Facade
by purplepidgioncommandbase
Summary: People suffer from broken hearts everyday but few die from their hearts literally being ripped in two. A trouble is causing people to die from their hearts being ripped in two and it will be up to Duke, Nathan and Audrey to stop the murders. The case is not the only problems the three will face when a secret comes to light that will forever change them. More info. inside
1. A Beating Lie

**Hey everyone! This is my first attempt at a Haven fiction so the characters may be a little out of character. This is also my first case fic. so that was another challenge that I had to hurdle through. Hopefully all like this! BTW I have finished this story so keep that in mind.**

**This story is SLASH, just a warning**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter One

He watched as Nathan fawned over Audrey, using any excuse he could to touch her and by the twinkle in her eye and the hushed laughter she was enjoying every minute of it. It made him sick.

He loved Audrey, really he did but sometimes he was angered by her tendency to play with Nathan's heart strings then leave him in the dry while she went off to another man. It wasn't just that either, he was still pissed about the way she had played him that day with Harry Nix and her true intentions for involving him in the case. Though he knew that she was only doing what she believed to be right, and in the end hundreds of lives were saved, it wasn't her that had to kill a man to do that.

More nights then not he saw Harry's face as he held his hand over his nose and mouth, suffocating him as he fought for every last breath. Harry's eyes begging him to let him live, even if it was only for a few more minutes, his teeth scraping against his palm and hot bursts of desperate air coated his skin, all of this and more continued to haunt him even after he woke but the worst part of the flashes was the empty eyes of Harry after his heart stopped. A thought occurred to him the day after Harry's death and that was what Harry's last thoughts might have been? Did he think back to his childhood? His wife and children? Then that thought bloomed into another: Did he regret what he did? Duke hadn't known the man before the troubles started up again, Harry Nix could have been a decent man who genuinely loved his family and would never even think of hurting another human being. His thoughts could go on like that forever, if he let them, but he wouldn't because he had to put that behind him and pray that he would never have to take another life again.

Looking over at his wall clock he saw that it was nearing midnight, signaling that it was time to start closing up. Standing up he bellowed out, "okay folks we're closing in five so last call then head on home, and be safe out there!" people grumbled and many got up and headed for the door. Duke walked closer to the door and watched the patrons leave, making sure that all of them were sober enough to be driving. Looking back over at Nathan and Audrey's table he saw that they were still talking, that same stupid smile was on Audrey's face and that annoying mooning look Nathan was sporting. Catching the attention of his waitress Beth he instructed her to keep post at the door and to take the keys from anyone too drunk to be driving. She had worked in bars long enough to recognize a wasted individual, which was the reason that he had chosen her.

Walking over to his friend's table he pulled up another chair and sat down, effectively interrupting whatever conversation they were having. "I'm closing up the bar in about three minutes so if you guys want any more drinks speak up now" he sent Audrey an expected charming smile, completely ignoring Nathan who he could feel glaring daggers at him. "We're good Duke, in fact I'm going to head up to bed. Night guys" standing up from the table she smiled at them both, but of course her smile brightened towards Nathan, then she walked off. Only a few moments passed before the inevitable tension came to a boil.

"What do you want Duke?" Nathan practically growled, sighing in annoyance, but also in part for show, he answered with one of his usual flippant replies, "all I'm doing is sitting here enjoying a cold drink" saluting with his bottle he took a long swig. Shaking his head, probably in disgust, Nathan stood up from the table and made a quick exit.

The beer he had just finished now tasted rancid and he scrounged up his mouth at the horrible aftertaste. He should really check on those beer cases because some of them had obviously gone skunk. Or that was what he told himself. By now the gull had completely emptied out, leaving only him and his employees...or so he thought, sitting in a corner was an attractive young woman twirling the straw in her drink with a forlorn look on her face. Normally he would be over there already flirting her up but he wasn't in the mood for pointless sex, he just wanted to close up and go back to his boat to sleep.

Getting up from the table he walked over to the woman, "we're closing up now miss" she continued to stir her drink, like she hadn't even heard him. Getting a little annoyed but not going to let that make him be rude to a customer he bottled up his anger and sat down in the chair across from her.

"Look, I'm not the greatest at talking to people who are upset, which you clearly are, but whatever's bothering you I'm sure things will get better" he tried to encourage, but yet she continued to stare blankly at him, still stirring the straw in her drink.

This woman was really starting to weird him out, and he had an inkling that she may be troubled. About to get up to get Audrey back down here he actually jumped when the woman spoke, "I thought he loved me" her voice was so soft, but the words she spoke were like they had been punched out of her.

Sitting back down, still wary of the potentially "troubled" person across from him he spoke, "you thought who loved you?"

She stopped stirring the straw, and though he could see that she was looking at him she wasn't seeing him but something or some_one _else.

"I have to go now" silently standing she walked away, her walk so fluid it was like she was in some kind of trance and since this was Haven that wasn't out of the realm of possibilities. Getting up he started to follow her but was cut off by one of his waitresses who was asking about something or another but his focus was elsewhere.

"Just a sec I need to..." looking away from the waitress he saw that the woman was gone, "follow her...damn it!" he quietly cursed.

"Mr. Crocker?" the waitress asked, probably afraid she had done something wrong.

Gripping the back of his hair he internally growled. Great! A potentially distraught "troubled" person had just left his bar and there was no telling what kind of affliction she could have. Remembering the waitress he turned back to her.

"Sorry...Angela, what were you asking" he asked, looking down at her nametag. She was one of his newest hires when his last waitress quit so he was still getting to know her.

"I was just wondering if I could have the day off next Tuesday? I know I just started and all but my little brother is graduating from UCLA and I promised him I would be there-" she was getting into full on explanation mode but he didn't have time for that,

"It's okay, go ahead but just be sure to get someone to cover your shift, have a good night" almost sprinting away from her he didn't catch whatever she yelled after him.

Running outside on the off chance that she was still close by, he looked around but like in all similar situations she was nowhere to be found. Cursing again he turned around and climbed the stairs to Audrey's apartment, when he reached her door he saw that the lights were off but he really needed to talk to her so he knocked on the door, hoping that she wasn't a deep sleeper, when his first few knocks weren't answered he was about to get out his own keys when a light came on and a few moments later the door opened to show a very disgruntled Audrey.

"What's going on Duke? I'm trying to sleep" she complained as she tried to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"There was a woman-"

"I'm not in the mood for one of your conquest stories so if you don't mind I'm going back to sleep" she started to shut the door but he reached out and blocked the doorframe.

"That's not what I'm trying to say! there was this woman down in the bar and she was acting really strange, like "troubled" strange and I thought you should know that she left and is out in town somewhere possibly causing some problems" he explained, hoping that she would take him seriously.

She was quiet for a few moments before she spoke again, "did something happen that would make you believe that she was "troubled" and not just going through a rough patch?" she was still partially asleep but he could see that he had caught her interest.

"There was just something about her Aud, all she said was that she thought he loved her and that she had to go now then she just walked off. But I'm telling you, there was something really off about this girl and I just have a gut feeling that it's "trouble" related" he insisted, practically pleading with her now.

Sighing she scratched her head, "okay, just let me grab a coat and I'll go down to the bar with you and we can question your staff, see if they saw her" walking back inside she grabbed her coat off the hook then closed and locked her door and followed Duke down the steps back into the Grey Gull.

By now all of his staff were getting ready to head home for the night but he stopped them at the door, "sorry everyone back inside, Detective Parker and I have some questions that we need to ask you all then you can all go home" Duke stated, grumbles of disdain were muttered as they turned and walked back to the bar, some taking chairs and stools while others remained standing.

"What is this all about Duke? I got to get home and relieve my wife of baby duty" Mark, his head bartender asked and was soon followed by other people's needs to get home.

"Hey! Everyone just quiet down, the sooner we ask our questions the sooner you can all get home" Audrey yelled over the noise.

Consenting to her request the group quieted down and waited for the questioning to begin.

"There was a woman who was sitting at that table over there, now I know there were a lot of people coming and going but she left only about five minutes ago, she had blond hair, brown eyes and she was wearing a red dress. It's important that we find her because she could be in trouble, so if any of you saw which way she might have gone or even spoke to her please tell us now" Duke said, looking around at the group of people in front of him.

They talked quietly amongst themselves before Mark spoke up, "I'm pretty sure I served her a drink, she was really quiet and kept messing with her hair like she was nervous about something"

"could've been a date" someone else spoke up and there were murmurs of agreement.

"Did anyone happen to catch her name? Or see if she met up with someone?" Duke looked around at the suddenly quiet group, the answers to his question abruptly cut off. Seeing that he wasn't going to get anything else out of them he sent them on their way. When everyone had vacated the building Duke locked up and turned to face Audrey who was standing by the stairs.

"I'm right about this Aud, that girl is troubled and I'm betting that whatever happened tonight triggered her curse and something terrible is going to happen" he wasn't going to let another trouble related incident occur when he had the ability to stop it before the danger occurred. Looking into Audrey's eyes he could see the pity in them and that only angered him; he didn't want nor need her pity. She was probably thinking that he was still traumatized about taking Nix's life, she would be right but that was beside the point, he knew that he was right.

"I really need your help Audrey" begging was usually beneath him but he needed the resources she had, even if he was less than thrilled to be forced to team up with her.

"Okay, how about you come down to the station tomorrow and you can talk to our sketch artist and see if we can put a name to this woman" she suggested, quickly followed by a loud and long yawn.

Not seeing that he had much of a choice he nodded, "okay, but I'll do the sketch myself, while its still fresh in my mind" he clarified,

she gave him an odd look, "I didn't know you could draw" he chuckled, "there's a lot you don't know about me. Have a good night Parker" giving a parting charming smile he begin the walk towards his boat.

~Break~

About three blocks away from the Grey Gull a young man, in about his early thirties, was just settling down into bed to be fully rested for his conference tomorrow when he was interrupted by the jingling of his doorbell. Not feeling like getting out of bed he decided to just wait the person out, pretty soon they were sure to get the message that either he wasn't home or he was sleeping.

After a few minutes passed the person had now resorted to ringing the doorbell and rapidly pounding on his door so he had no choice but to go down there and answer the door before his neighbors called the police.

Throwing on his bathrobe he grumbled as he walked down the stairs to his front door. Unlocking the deadbolt he swung the door open, fully prepared to grind into this person who had woke him up in the dead of night but was effectively silenced by the person who was looking back at him.

It had begun pouring since he had been outside and she was completely soaked, her dress was clinging to her and her makeup was smeared down to her cheeks. But what truly unnerved him was the lifeless eyes that were drilling into him.

"Look, I really am sorry about what I did, it wasn't fair to you but it's over, okay? You can come inside and I'll call you a ride but after that, no more" he gestured for her to come inside but she didn't move.

Beginning to get annoyed and really freaked out he was about to slam the door on her face and call the police but froze when she finally spoke,

"you said you loved me" her voice was hauntingly quiet and deepened his fear of her motives for being here.

His throat suddenly becoming much drier and fully aware of the danger he could be in he chose his next words carefully, "yes I did, and I'm sorry that I hurt you, but we should both move on and start new relationships so that you can find someone who will truly appreciate you"

The nerve-wracking silence continued for a few more moments before she finally looked at him, for real this time and not through him.

"Your right, goodbye Jerry" turning away from him she walked down the steps and headed out into the night.

Still unnerved by his ex's unexpected visit he kept watching her until she was completely out of sight before closing the door and locking both the deadbolt and the lock on the doorknob. Knowing that he really needed to get some sleep he headed back up his stairs to his bedroom but just as he was nearing the last step it felt like all the air had been sucked from his lungs and his heart felt like it was being crushed inside his chest.

Desperately trying to take in oxygen he frantically clutched at his chest, as if that could alleviate the excruciating pain that was beginning to numb his body. Losing his footing he crashed and tumbled down the steps, the world jumbling around until his heart finally stopped and the world darkened.

Jerry's body now lay crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, his arms and legs splayed out at awkward angles as a thin trail of bubbling blood slithered out from the corner of his lips.


	2. A Stain On The Mind

Chapter Two

Duke had been up all night working on the sketch, dozens of crumpled up paper littered the floor and his hands were covered in charcoal, smearing everything he touched in faint black he was sure there was even some on his face and neck. The sketch had to be as accurate as possible, especially if he was hoping to get a name to the face because the description he had given Audrey covered a good chunk of Haven.

But finally he had a sketch that he was pleased with and happily set it down on the table then got up to take a shower and change into some clean clothes.

Slipping out of his clothes he left behind a trail as he turned on his shower and stepped inside, pulling the curtain behind him. The moment the hot water hit his skin he couldn't keep in the moan of pleasure that came out. The charcoal that coated his hands and streaked his face and neck traveled down his body and swirled together into the water creating a gray spiral as it was sucked down the drain.

As he stood in the shower his thoughts began to travel, specifically towards Nathan and the rocky relationship they were juggling. For the longest time things had been tense between them, always arguing and fighting about the stupidest things and of course him playing all those stupid pranks on Nathan when they were kids, of course he regretted most of them, especially the tack incident and the crack between them continued to chip away with each passing year until there would be nothing but air connecting them.

That crack had only seemed to expand since Audrey's arrival. Any idiot could see that Nathan was in love with her, especially with the fact that he could feel her touch. But the worst part of all of that was that because of his love for her he had become extra paranoid of Duke's intentions whenever he was around her and as a result had blatantly threatened him to stay away from her. Nathan probably had this insane idea that Duke was in love with her as well but he couldn't be further from the truth because his heart was still hung up on someone else.

There were moments where they're relationship had seemed to be getting better, they would joke around a little, exchange casual smiles and help save lives together but it seemed that after the disaster that had brought them together had been averted they went back to the same rocky relationship, a never ending cycle that he wanted to get off of.

Realizing that the water was starting to get cold he quickly squirted some shampoo into his hand and finished up his shower.

~Break~

Audrey lifted up the police tape and walked under and up to the upper class house. Police were roaming around the neighborhood asking neighbors questions and such while the few CSU's they had were inside photographing the scene and collecting evidence.

She met Nathan who was over by the body, he looked up at her as she approached and graciously accepted the cup of coffee she handed him.

"What do we got?" she asked as she took a drink of her much needed caffeine.

"Jerry Cummings, 33 years old and lives alone. He was found by his secretary who came to check on him after he missed an important meeting he had and wasn't answering her calls" he summarized, staring down at the body.

She continued looking at the body for a few more moments then looked around at the living area. The place was painted in dull colors and the furniture was mainly centered around black with some dark gray thrown in and she also noticed that everything was kept meticulously together.

"What did our guy do for a living?" she asked as she started to slowly walk around, getting a closer look at some of the deceased's personal belongings. She noted a picture of their victim and a young woman who were smiling for the camera while seated on a porch swing.

"He was a marketing manager at Haven Tech. for about five years now and from what the secretary told me he didn't exactly climb up the ladder the noble way" he elaborated, bending down to go over what he could of the body for any more possible clues.

"meaning that he probably had a lot of enemies" she walked back over to Nathan and looked back down at the body.

"Excuse me, I believe I have a body to inspect" Dr. Lucassi said as he brushed by the two detectives and set his kit down. Opening up his kit he took out a pair of his gloves and slipped them on, he then proceeded to check the body over, starting with his liver temperature.

"Liver temp. suggests that this man died about nine hours ago putting the TOD sometime around...midnight last night" he put that instrument away and continued his investigation.

"What do you think Dr. Lucassi, was it an accident or foul play?" Nathan asked as he watched the doctor work.

"Give me a moment, this takes time and concentration" he chastised as he continued to look over the body, carefully moving certain limbs. He stopped when he came to the man's neck and saw that it was broken but the pinkish blood that pooled around his mouth gave evidence to another cause of death.

Looking up the stairs he saw the ruffled carpet and the way the body lined up with the stairs, the shape the body was in indicated that he had fallen down the stairs but he was beginning to believe that that wasn't the cause of death.

"Obviously the man fell down the stairs but I'm going to need to bring the body back to my lab to determine if this was foul play or not, but I can tell you that your guy likely suffered from pulmonary edema due to the pinkish blood that's coming out of his mouth" motioning to the paramedics they brought over the body bag and carefully lifted and placed Jerry Cummings' body into the bag and wheeled the body away with Dr. Lucassi following behind.

"So do you think this was just an accident or murder?" Nathan asked,

"I'm hoping this was just an unfortunate accident but with our track record it'll probably turn up being the result of a troubled person" she answered, already going over an array of possible afflictions that could cause this.

Exiting the house they walked down the steps and over to a distraught women who Nathan introduced as Marie Nelson, Jerry Cummings' secretary. She was standing by a police officer who was trying to get her to drink some water.

"Miss Nelson, I'm Detective Audrey Parker, would you mind answering some more questions?" she flashed her badge out of habit then pocketed the badge and started her questioning.

"Miss Nelson, do you know of anyone that might've wanted to harm Mr. Cummings?" Audrey kept her voice soft and unthreatening. The slightly shaken secretary opened and closed her mouth, the sight of her boss, dead, on his living room floor still chilling her to the very core of her body.

A paramedic who was on standby walked over to them, "this woman is in shock, I'm going to take her down to the hospital and get her treated. The hospital will call when she's able to answer your questions" wrapping a blanket around her shoulders the paramedic led her over to a waiting ambulance.

"Well until we speak to her we should probably talk to some of the neighbors" walking under the tape with Nathan following behind they were soon walking in step towards one of Mr. Cummings' neighbor's house.

As they walked a loud yawn rumbled forth and she covered her mouth in embarrassment. Nathan smiled, "someone didn't get enough sleep last night"

She mocked glared at him, "not as much as I would have liked, but I got enough to keep me on my feet" she shot back as they finally came to the first house and rung the doorbell.

It took only a minute and a half before the door opened to reveal an old woman in a blinding pink bathrobe and her chalk white hair mused from sleep. The screen door stayed shut.

"Hello ma'am, I'm Detective Audrey Parker and this is my partner Nathan Wuornos, we're with Haven P.D. and we were hoping that you might be able to answer some questions for us?" an uncomfortable moment of staring passed before she responded,

"I already spoke to an officer and I'm going to tell you the same thing I told him: I was asleep and didn't see or hear a thing. Now if you don't mind my show is on" before they could get another word in the old lady closed the door and the click of two locks followed.

"Doesn't look like she's going to be helping us anytime soon so why don't we try another neighbor" stepping down the steps they moved onto the next house.

After about an hour of questioning nosy neighbors and doing another sweep of the house Nathan and Audrey returned to the station and headed down to the morgue after receiving a text from Dr. Lucassi.

When they entered the morgue the strong scent of cleaning products and a strange mix of vanilla invaded Nathan's senses as he stood in the room, obviously Audrey wasn't as affected by the smell but there was definitely a strong antiseptic odor to the room.

"What do you have for us?" Nathan asked, standing beside Audrey as the doctor walked over to an examination table and pulled the sheet down to Mr. Cummings' waist.

Audrey had to turn away for a second. Even with everything that she had seen while in Haven the sight of a corpse with its chest opened up for display still got to her. Taking a breath she looked back to the body and waited to hear the doctor's findings.

"Well I can definitively say that this man did not die from the fall down the stairs, his death was caused by the fact that his heart was ripped in two" he waved his hand over the messy remains of what used to be a man's heart.

"That's a new one" Nathan muttered, starting to believe that a troubled person could be involved.

Not yet willing to call this a trouble related incident Audrey continued her inquiry, "is there any possible chance that this happened because of a medical condition or something?" she was really hoping that she wouldn't have to track down another troubled person, for once she wanted just a normal cause of death.

"There are plenty of heart conditions in the world but I've never come across one where the heart was literally ripped in two. This is close to the kind of result you see after someone is stabbed in the heart but there were no visible stab wounds on the victim so that rules that out"

"What about poisons?" she continued, having to cover every last form of possible reason.

Dr. Lucassi shook his head, "none that would have this kind of reaction. It looks like we've got another trouble on our hands" he concluded.

Audrey cursed. Just once she wanted a normal case.

"Anything else?" Nathan asked.

"Mr. Cummings was a very healthy man; his lungs were clear of any tobacco or cancer, save the blood that drained in there after his heart ripped, kidney and liver were in tip top shape and from what I found in his stomach I can say that pretty much everything about this guy screamed health nut. I would even say the same about his heart, except for the giant rip in it" he finished, pulling the sheet back over the body.

"Thanks, call us if you find anything else" the doctor nodded as Audrey and Nathan left the room and headed backup stairs to go over the case some more.

Reaching Nathan's office they walked inside and closed the door behind them. Nathan walked over to his desk and Audrey stood in front of the whiteboard, picking up a marker she started writing out everything they knew.

"So our vic. was a marketing manager at Haven Tech., lived alone, was a "health nut" as Dr. Lucassi put it and from what the secretary said a lot of people could have wanted this guy dead" Audrey spoke as her hand moved along the board, making lists.

Nathan leaned against his desk, searching his mind for another aspect of their victim. Just as he was going to open his mouth to give his own input Duke came walking in, a piece of paper in his hand and his sights set on Audrey.

"There you are, I've been looking for you. I have that sketch of the woman from the bar last night" Duke explained as he handed her the sketching.

For a moment Audrey didn't know what he was talking about until her memories of last night came back and she nodded, "right, yeah thanks Duke. Look, Nathan and I are investigating another trouble related case right now but I promise you that once this is done with I'll get right on this"

Duke bit his lip, a slight frown on his face but he nodded his head, "yeah, okay I understand. I'll just leave you two to it then" tapping his thighs he then walked out.

"What was that about?" Nathan asked, eyeing the paper Audrey was holding.

Audrey actually looked a little sheepish as she answered him, "last night Duke came up to my apartment and told me about this woman, he believes she may be "troubled" and he wanted my help on tracking her down before something bad happens" she explained, walking over to Nathan and setting the picture down on his desk.

"So he's the reason you didn't get enough sleep last night" he deduced, a frown etching onto his face.

She nodded, "yeah, but after I finished questioning some of his employees I went back up to my apartment and fell asleep"

"She's probably just a women who had a little too much and is sleeping it off somewhere" he stated, not really in the mood to be dealing with Duke today.

"Maybe, but Duke looked really sure about this so I'm going to look into this for him and if it turns out that she's just a normal woman all the better" walking back over to the board she once again picked up the marker and continued making a list on their victim.

~Break~

Downtown in Haven's only travel agency a young woman sat across from her boss, her feet nervously tapping on the mint green carpet, sweat building up around her hairline and her hands twisting her blue dress.

"I've called you in here because I've been going over the numbers and unfortunately we're not bringing in as much money as I would've liked. Online travel booking has really taken a big chunk out of our business and I can't afford to keep as many employees as I currently have, so I'm going to have to let some people go" the boss spoke, a somber look on her face as she looked at the young woman across from her.

"The choice is never easy, and understand when I say that I take no pleasure from this, but I have to let you go Emaline. You'll of course be getting a severance check and I'll be sure to give you a glowing recommendation to wherever you choose to apply" the look of the woman across from her was enough to break her heart. She was like a daughter to her, and it truly hurt her to be doing this but she had to do what was best for her business and as sad as it was Emaline was the least experienced of the bunch and she had to start with her.

Emaline remained quiet, still not looking at her now ex boss. A silent tear ran down her cheek and her hands released her dress.

"I understand. Thank you for the opportunity" her voice was so quiet that her ex employer had trouble hearing her and she could only watch as she rose from her chair and headed towards the door.

Unable to let her leave without giving her some form of comfort she pushed herself up from her chair and walked over to the poor girl and wrapped her in a hug.

"Think of this as a new start, a new chapter in your life if you would. If you need anything, anything at all just give me a call" with one last squeeze she released her and watched as Emaline left her office then walked over to her old desk.

Her remaining employees gave Emaline sympathetic looks and some even got up to comfort her as she collected her meager possessions into her purse then vacated the building.

Today would officially go down as one of the worst days of her life.

Seated outside on a bench about a block away from her old job Emaline sat with her purse in her lap, her eyes vacant as she watched happy people walk by.

Digging into her purse she got out her cell phone and called up one of the only people who could make her feel better at a time like this.

"I got laid off twinkle, she said it was because she didn't have the funds to pay me. First Jerry cheats on me and now I lost my job? I don't know how much more of this I can take" more tears ran down her face and her voice was choked up with the sorrow that had become her life.

She listened to what her friend said and nodded even though the other person couldn't see her, but a small sad smile brought a little light to her when she spoke next.

"Yeah, yeah I'd like that. You always know just what to say to make me feel better...I'm on a bench in front of Mike's hardware store...okay I'll see you in a few. And thank you, for always being there for me" sniffling they exchanged goodbyes and hung up.

~Break~

Back in the Haven Travel Agency Emaline's now ex employer was sitting in her office going over the numbers again and contemplating the difficult decision of who else she had to let go when all the air in her lungs was suddenly cut off. She valiantly tried to take a breath to no avail and her struggle to survive continued when her heart seized and she lost all feeling in her body.

Stumbling towards her door, papers and office supplies scattering onto the floor, she tripped around until she finally made it to the door and slammed her body into it and tumbled out into the office area. By now it felt like she was drowning in her own skin and her vision was beginning to blur and darken.

All noises ceased.

She was gone.

Panicked employees were at her side, one checking her pulse while others stood in shock, not knowing what to do and another called an ambulance.

By the time the ambulance arrived it was too late. She had been dead before her body had even hit the floor.

~Break~

Audrey and Nathan were at Haven Regional Hospital standing around the bed of Marie Nelson, waiting for the nurse to finish checking her blood pressure before beginning their questioning. Writing down the information on the chart in her hand the nurse spoke,

"everything looks good Miss Nelson. I'll just inform the doctor and he'll be in shortly to do a follow up" before she left she took the two detectives aside.

"Try not to upset her, she may be better physically but her mind is still very fragile; the slightest negative nudge could send her back into shock so please tread carefully" giving them a pointed look she then left and went to alert the doctor. Once the nurse was gone they walked back over to Marie's bed and began their questioning.

"Miss Nelson, we'll try to keep this as brief as possible. So, you told my partner that Mr. Cummings didn't exactly climb up the ladder at work the traditional way, would you mind elaborating on that?" Audrey began, a nerve soothing smile on her face.

Marie licked her lips, "Mr. Cummings was a very intelligent man, he knew exactly what to say to get what he wanted and he had no problem playing dirty. He might've seemed like a decent man but he had dirt on everyone he worked with and if anyone crossed him he would "discreetly" threaten to let loose a secret that person has, one that would hurt their careers and life, if it got out. Supposedly the main reason that he got the promotion was because he had pictures of his boss, Tom Lynch, and his mistress in compromising situations" she answered, pulling herself up to a more comfortable position.

Nathan wrote down the name in his notepad.

"Was there anyone else that Mr. Cummings threatened?" Audrey continued, Marie scrounged up her forehead in thought,

"now that I think about it there was someone that he got fired, I think his name was Adam...Petrelli? Yeah I-I believe his name was Adam Petrelli" Nathan wrote that name down as well.

"Okay, we only have a few more questions and then we'll let you rest. Was Mr. Cummings in a relationship with anyone? Perhaps an angry ex?" she continued.

"No...wait, there was someone. Her name was Emaline, I don't know her last name but I've transferred her calls to him once a in a while and with one call I remember hearing him arguing with her about something" Marie played with the thin blanket that was draped over her legs.

"That's really good, just one more question and we'll be on our way: do you know if Mr. Cummings was "troubled"?" Audrey tried to word the question as delicately as possible, not wanting to upset her.

"Not that I'm aware of and honestly if he did I think he would have kept it hidden" she answered.

The doctor came into the room and began going over the notes the nurse had given him.

"Thank you for your time and if you remember anything else please call us, this is my number at the station and my cell phone number is on the back" Audrey said as she placed her card on the bedside table. Leaving the room they started down the hall towards the exit.

"I guess our next stop should be at our victim's workplace then Adam Petrelli's residence" Nathan said as he pocketed his notepad,

"I think we should start by Petrelli's first. Getting fired because of someone can usually leave a lot of resentment and may even be enough to bring out their trouble" it being decided they were preparing to head back to the station to get Petrelli's address but stopped when they saw Dr. Lucassi approaching them.

"What are you doing here?" Audrey asked, wondering if it had something to do with their case.

"I'm friends with the medical examiner here and she called me because of something she found in a body and since it appears to pertain to this case I'll tell you: a woman in her late fifties was brought in, DOA, and it appeared at the time that she had died from a heart attack they wanted to be sure and ordered an autopsy to be done; long story short when she cut her open she found that her heart had been ripped in two" he finished.

Split in two different directions a choice had to be made about who went where. Audrey spoke up, having decided, "you go check out the body and I'll go talk to Petrelli, that way if it is him and he loses control I won't get hurt" she explained.

Nathan didn't like the idea of letting her go alone, to talk to a person who could rip people's hearts in two but he knew that Audrey could take care of herself and her explanation was rational.

"Okay, but be careful" he voiced,

"aren't I always?" she joked.

He gave her a look.

"I will be. Call me when you find something" turning she walked to the exit, phone in hand and calling up the station to get an address for Adam Petrelli.

~Break~

The sky was brewing up for a storm as Duke walked downtown, hands in his pockets and subconsciously keeping under the small coverage the store roofs had to offer.

He hadn't heard back from Audrey yet and while he knew that she was still working another case he just wished her case would go by faster. When he had been in Nathan's office earlier he had briefly set his eyes on Nathan as Audrey was talking to him and it wasn't hard to see the tension that seemed to sprout in him the moment Duke entered the room and he was only just able to hide the hurt that familiar reaction invoked in him.

Deciding that he needed to get his mind elsewhere he focused his mind on the task at hand: picking up his regular order of Belvedere vodka. Entering the mostly vacant store he walked over to Frank, the owner.

"Hey Frank, you get my order?" he asked, leaning against the counter,

"yeah it's in the back room, still surprises me that you order a lot of your drinks through me" he said.

Duke smiled as he straightened himself, "just helping a fellow Haven businessman" walking through the aisles he carefully brushed past an elderly woman and thought he was in the clear but he wasn't paying attention and ran into a young woman, sending her groceries scattering across the floor.

"Oh no" the woman sighed as she bent down and started picking up her groceries.

"I'm so sorry, are you okay?" he asked as he bent down and helped her pick up her items.

"I'm fine, it was my fault" her voice was subdued and layered with issues of low self worth,

"no it was my fault and are you sure your okay?" he asked again, rising from the floor,

"I'm sure" it wasn't until now that Duke was fully paying attention that he found that he recognized that voice! And when the woman finally met his eyes he discovered that she was from the woman from last night!

"It's you! You were at the Grey Gull last night" her eyes widened, she was about to say something but another woman's voice interrupted,

"Emaline, is everything okay?" the woman took Emaline by the arm and brought her over to her side, eyeing Duke suspiciously.

"I'm fine, he was just helping me pick up my groceries. Let's get going" keeping her eyes down Emaline turned and started towards the checkout. Duke moved to follow but the new woman blocked his path,

"you've done your good deed, now turn around and get on with your shopping" the threat was clear and he knew she was just trying to protect her friend from a potential creep but he really needed to talk to Emaline.

"Look, I get that your trying to protect your friend but she could be potentially really dangerous, she may be troubled and-" the woman's glare hardened,

"I don't know who you are but I'm ordering you to stay away from her and as for her being "troubled" that's just ridiculous! Now leave us alone!" turning on her heel she stalked off, stopping beside Emaline and paying for the groceries then led Emaline out of the store.

He was tempted to go after them but he didn't want to give her anymore ammo to call the police and accuse him of stalking. Ah screw it! If risking jail time meant saving lives he would do it.

~Break~

She had just gotten to Adam Petrelli's address when her phone went off, looking at the caller ID she saw that it was Duke. For a moment she contemplated letting it go to voicemail but she knew that Duke was persistent and wouldn't stop calling until she picked up.

"What is it Duke? And make it quick, I'm about to interview a suspect" she cradled the phone in her hand as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"I ran into that woman from last night, her name is Emaline. I figured its a unique enough name that there can't be too many of them in town" he said.

It took a second for her mind to comprehend the name he had just given her. "Wait did you say Emaline?" she had to be sure she had heard right,

"yeah, why do you know something?" she opened her door and got out, "I might but just stay away from her Duke, she may have already killed two people and I don't want you to be the third" she ordered, slamming her door shut she started towards Adam Petrelli's house.

There was silence on the other end before she got a response, okay Aud, but you be careful yourself" without saying goodbye he hung up.

Pocketing her phone she quickened her pace as she climbed the stoop to the door and as calmly as she could knocked on the door. With every second that the door didn't open the more anxious she became. As she was raising her hand to knock again the door opened and standing before her was a man that looked to have been heading out for work from the suit and tie to the briefcase in his hand.

She flashed her badge, "Audrey Parker, Haven P.D. I need to ask you a few questions about Jerry Cummings" for a moment the man seemed to be juggling his options but came to the smart choice and let her in.

"So what do you want to know about Jerry? Did he finally get himself arrested for extortion?" he led her into the house and into the living room where he promptly took a seat and set his briefcase down.

"He was murdered Mr. Petrelli. He was found in his home a few hours ago" she kept back the information of who had found him for the safety of Marie, just in case.

Mr. Petrelli was silent for a moment before he spoke, "I know this will sound bad but honestly, I'm not surprised that bastard got himself killed. I'm sure you already know this but he kept dirt on everyone, and I'm also sure the reason your here is because he's the one who used certain "information" that got me fired. Did I hate the man? Without a doubt but I'm over it, I got a new job, better pay, better hours and hell even better co-workers, if anything he did me a favor. You can ask me whatever you want, blood tests, fingerprints whatever, because I didn't do it" he had an ease of confidence surrounding him and she had a gut punching feeling that he was telling the truth but she still had to finish her questioning.

"I have to ask, where were you around midnight last night?" he rolled his eyes but answered anyway, "I was in bed with my wife, the whole night, in fact last night was a Tuesday and every Tuesday my wife and I-" she cut him off before he went any further.

"Okay, I just have one more question then I'll be leaving. Do you know or have heard of a woman named Emaline?" she was really hoping that she hadn't reached a dead end.

He looked to be thinking about it for a few moments, mulling the name around in his mind until recognition lit up his face.

"That was his girlfriend. I remember from one of our earlier conversations, before I found out what a jerk he was, and from what he told me he was crazy about her but she was really needy and he wasn't too crazy about that friend of hers" he recollected.

Audrey perked up at this, "did you happen to get this friend's name?" she could tell that his patience was thinning but any information she could get about Emaline would help.

"I think her name was Sally or Sarah. Look I really have to be going. I hope you catch whoever did this now if you would excuse me I have to be going" he said as he rose from the couch, picked up his briefcase and led Audrey to the door.

Once outside while, Adam was locking the door she took out a card with her contact information.

"Thank you for your time Mr. Petrelli and if you think of anything else please call me at that number" nodding noncommittally he pocketed the card and jogged down the steps to his car. Going at a slower pace she walked down the steps to her own car.

As she was preparing to start the car her phone went off and the caller ID read Nathan. Answering the call she left the keys dangling in the transmission, "hey Nathan, what did you find out?" she asked, reclining back in her seat.

"The woman's heart was in the same condition as Cummings'. We have two dead victims Audrey, we have to find whoever is doing this and either help them or stop them" Nathan reported, standing outside the hospital.

"Hopefully it doesn't come to that. Anyway, I just questioned Adam Petrelli and he confirmed that he had heard of Emaline. From what Cummings told him Jerry loved her but she was apparently really needy and he wasn't too keen about one of her friends"

"did you get a name?"

"he said it was either Sally or Sarah"

She chewed her bottom lip, considering how she should word the next bit of information she had gotten from Duke.

"Remember when Duke came in this morning with a sketch? Well the woman from last night is possibly the same Emaline that we're looking for" there was silence on the other end before he answered.

"How does he know her name?" there was an emotion behind his words that she couldn't name but it was an intense one that made her really uneasy.

"He said he ran into her, didn't say where, but I told him to stay away from her and he promised that he would" the moment the words left her mouth she wanted to slap herself in the face. Duke rarely listened to law officials and she was no exception, he was probably watching her now.

"You believed him?! He's a criminal Audrey! Lying to him is second nature, and besides that he's Duke!" Nathan exploded, catching the attention of people who passed.

The last part of his rant summed it up perfectly: he's Duke. She felt like an idiot for not realizing her mistake sooner.

"Your right, I made a mistake! But let's move past that and focus on finding Duke before he does something and get's himself killed" she didn't appreciate how Nathan was speaking to her but she just put it down as stress from the case and his complicated friendship with Duke.

Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose, if he could feel pain he would be suffering from a paralyzing headache right now there was just something about Duke, besides the horrible pranks that Duke had pulled on him when they were growing up and not even the supposed fishing trip that he had brought him on, it was just a physical and emotional reaction that occurred when the two met, like Mentos and coke, on their own harmless but when combined a frothing, uncontrollable mess.

"I'll come pick you up and we can look around town for him. Hopefully he's not off somewhere playing detective" Audrey turned the key and brought the car to life.

"Okay, I'll try calling him. See you in a bit"

"See ya"

hanging up he then took up the task of trying to reach Duke before he did something that could cost him his life.

~Break~

~Several phone calls and heated messages later~

Nathan cursed as his call went to voicemail again, of course he wouldn't pick up because a.) he was ignoring him, b.) his phone was off, or c.) and this was the one that made his gut churn, he had been caught and was possibly dead. Just as he was gearing up to call him for what was close to the 10th call Audrey pulled up in front and gestured for him to get in. Deciding that he would try calling him one more time he held the phone to his ear and ducked into the car, closing the door beside him.

Audrey was about to speak but he held up his finger, silencing her but that proved pointless when his call once again went to voicemail. Ending the call he pocketed the device and slumped back in his seat.

"I take it he didn't pick up?" she guessed turning the wheel and driving out of the hospital parking lot.

"Of course Duke would do this! We're trying to work a case and instead we have to track him down before he gets himself killed!" Nathan ranted, pulling the seatbelt so hard that it almost broke he buckled himself in.

A moment of silence passed, "he really seems to be getting under your skin lately. What's going on?" Audrey kept her eyes on the road but could see him out of the corner of her eye. An uncomfortable look passed over his features and she could see a hint of...fear? Or something akin to that flicker in his eye but be blown away in an instant.

For a moment it seemed that he wasn't going to answer but before she could change the subject he spoke.

"I feel like I'm losing my mind Audrey. Half the time I just want to punch that annoying smirk off his face but then the other half...maybe my sanity has gone numb as well" he wouldn't meet her gaze, instead opting to look out the window and travel off into his own world. This one too painful to inhabit at the moment.

From his words it almost sounded like...but that couldn't be...could it?


	3. The Identity Of Oursleves

Chapter Three

After looking for Duke for about half an hour and more calls to his cell than they could count Nathan and Audrey were forced to call it quits when it became clear that they weren't going to find him and they still had a case to solve.

"We should probably head back to the station and go over the evidence some more. Maybe we'll be able to put a last name to Emaline and put an APB out on her" turning the car around Audrey headed back to the station.

Arriving at the station the pair headed into Nathan's office and set to work on sorting through the limited evidence they had collected. Walking up to the familiar whiteboard she picked up the marker and wrote Emaline's name under their list of suspects, which made her their one and only.

"We need to find Emaline's connection to Angela DeLauney otherwise we're stuck" Audrey observed, biting the end of the marker.

"Maybe it's something simple like they went to the same church or had the same doctor" pacing around the room he tried to think of another possible connection. Looking at the evidence and names on the board, hopeful that maybe they would give her inspiration and then her eyes landed on Angela's business: the travel agency.

"The travel agency" Nathan stopped and looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate.

"Emaline could have been one of her employees" going with it Nathan got out his phone and called a judge to get a warrant for the Haven Travel Agency employee records. Two minutes later Nathan hung up and told Audrey that the warrant would be waiting for them at the courthouse tomorrow leaving them with nothing to do but go over the evidence some more and work on remaining paperwork. This time however, was not spent in silence.

"Earlier in the car-" Audrey I don't want to talk about that, it was in the heat of the moment and...it doesn't matter now. Let's just focus on the case" when he met her gaze the pain and haggardness that she saw was like a punch to the gut and she physically had to stop herself from stumbling back.

"Okay, your right we need to focus on the case" she would keep confronting him until she got an answer she was satisfied with.

While he wasn't looking at her his eyes caught sight of the sketch Duke had done and picked it up and let the office. Audrey followed behind him curious as to what he was up to until they arrived at the sketch artist's office.

"Hey Tim, I need you to run this sketch through the database. We know her first name is Emaline but we need a last name and an address for her" he handed over the sketch and Tim got to work on making up a computerized version to run through the DMV and police databases.

"I'll let you know if I get anything" getting to work Audrey and Nathan walked back to his office.

~Break~

Three hours after the sun had gone down Nathan and Audrey left the station for their respective homes.

The streets were still alive with activity, mainly by the young adults, who were either in late night mode or going home after a long day of shopping.

When she reached the Grey Gull the place was packed, as it usually was, and the music was blasting with people laughing, drinking and having a good time. Having an idea where Duke was she held off on going straight to bed and entered the lively bar, headed straight for the bar where she saw Duke serving drinks.

Hopping onto the only available stool she got Duke's attention and he slid the drink he had prepared to the waiting customer then sauntered over to her.

"And what can I get you detective?" he leaned against the counter, a Cheshire grin on his face.

"Nothing for me thanks, I'm just here to make sure that your alright and haven't gotten hurt" she was about to get up but Duke reached out and placed his hand over her arm.

"Have you found out anything else about Emaline?" he asked, hoping that they were at least on the right track.

"All we've found out so far is that she is a very clingy individual with a friend that seems to always be around her" she listed, rubbing the smooth bar top for no particular reason.

"That's the impression I got when I first met Emaline and her friend. Just looking at her and speaking to her makes your soul hurt. I can just sense all the pain that she's been through and it almost brings me to my knees. We got to help this girl Audrey" reaching for a glass behind him he picked up a bottle of whiskey and poured himself a generous amount.

He caught her eyeing the whiskey and smiled, "you sure you don't want something? Won't cost a thing" he encouraged, lifting his glass and sipping some of the drink. The burn of the alcohol as it went down his throat was just the sensation he needed.

"I'm sure, not really in the mood" nodding in understanding he took another sip then set the glass down.

"Nathan was trying to get a hold of you earlier. Didn't you get any of his messages?" she asked, curious as to why he hadn't answered. He gave her a curious look as he dug into his pocket and took out his phone seeing that he had over twenty missed calls and ten text messages, all from Nathan. Going through the texts he saw that they went from mildly irritated to insanely pissed off.

"Guess I wasn't paying attention. Why was he trying to get a hold of me anyway?" it couldn't have been for anything pleasant.

"When I told him that you had run into Emaline he got pretty upset. Mainly because I told him that you promised me you wouldn't go after her and your criminal background along with years of knowing you made him believe that you were lying" she didn't mention that she hadn't believe him either.

Duke wasn't dumb, he knew that her faith in him was low as well but she didn't want to admit it.

"You sure it wasn't because he was afraid that Emaline would kill me before he got the chance?" he had meant for it to come out as joking but the venom in his voice spoke of another motive.

The look she gave him was unimpressed. "He was genuinely worried. No matter how much you guys piss each other off your still friends" she thought back to the brief conversation Nathan and her had had in her car and she was certain that Nathan truly did care for Duke she just wasn't sure to the extent.

"Friends may be too strong of a word. Goodnight Audrey" finishing off his drink he set the glass in the sink put the whiskey back in its proper place and walked off.

She sat in the bar for a few more minutes then got up and walked up to her apartment to get some much needed rest.

Back down at the bar Duke was seated on the deck watching the soothing ripples of the water as they splashed against the shore. Sometimes he wished he could just stay out at sea forever and never come back but somehow he was always drawn back to Haven. Whether it be because of supplies, fuel or the need to talk to and see another human being he always returned and it was usually at the worst of times.

The most recent timing had been when he had returned home to find the troubles had as well and Nathan had greeted him with a stack of parking tickets then simply walked off. He was sure there was also a shit eating grin on his face as he walked away.

The condition of their relationship was mostly to entirely Duke's fault. It was him who pulled the pranks, sometimes malicious, and he was the one who had caused Nathan to be so untrustworthy of other people.

What he hadn't told Audrey, and probably never would, was that if Nathan did try to kill him he may not put up too much of a fight.

As he sat pondering on all his life choices and the probability of Nathan killing him he didn't notice the wide-eyed, quiet woman standing in the background watching him.

Wishing that he had brought a bottle of liquor out with him he got up from the chair but when he turned around he nearly lost his footing and fell into the water.

"Jesus Christ!" he took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart.

She remained silent. Her face still obscured by the darkness the roof provided. All he could see was the flowy gray dress she was wearing and some of her ivory skin.

"Hello?" he took a step closer and she in turn took one back.

Going on gut instinct he tried another approach. "Emaline?' he saw her stiffen and he knew he was right in his assumption.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk" moving back slowly he sat back down, trying to remain as harmless as possible.

After hesitating for a moment she timidly took the seat next to him. Her eyes immediately strayed to the ocean and the a look of calmness washed over her, the water seeming to have the same kind of effect on her as it did Duke.

"My name's Duke. I own the bar here...I see that you like the water, have you ever been sailing before?" he was trying to ease into her trust, not wanting to scare her off or potentially bring out her trouble.

She shook her head and her soft voice actually responded. "I can't swim. I've always been fascinated by the water but it's never really been my friend. I tried learning once when I was six but I almost drowned. I haven't step foot in the ocean since" she looked away from the water and met Duke's gaze, her brown eyes hauntingly beautiful. It was like looking into an endless pool of sorrow and he found he had to look away.

"I'm sorry about my friend. She can be a bit overprotective at times. But she's always been there for me and I don't know what I'd do without her" she looked back out at the ocean, her hands playing with her dress. He bet it was a nervous tick.

"It's okay. She sounds like an amazing person. What's her name?" he was now covertly trying to get information out of her, feeling like he was starting to get to a point where she trusted him enough.

"Her name is Sarah and she's been my best friend since kindergarten. We met on the playground and these boys were making fun of me because I was always quiet. They called me "freak" and other hurtful names that I can barely remember them now. She saw what they were doing and she came over and pushed them away, telling them that if they didn't leave me alone she was going to beat them up. Apparently she had quiet the reputation because they backed off and I was never bullied by them again. I guess since that day she's always looked out for me" she smiled with a far off look on her face and Duke smiled as well.

They sat in contempt silence for a bit. Watching the water move to its own rhythm, the call of the gulls as they passed overhead and the background noise of the music and patrons in the bar was all the sound they needed.

Not wanting to break the tranquility of the moment but having to keep in mind that she was potentially troubled he moved on the next phase of his interrogation.

"I know this is going to sound strange but have you ever felt...different? Like there was something about you that was special?" he turned his head to look at her, watching her every move to see how she was going to respond.

The question had caught her off guard. She hadn't expected him to ask her that and now that he had she couldn't help but feel that maybe he would understand what she was going through. Maybe she could trust him.

"It started after my mom died. she had been fighting cancer for awhile and it seemed like she had beaten it but it came back and this time she wasn't strong enough. Besides Sarah my mom was the only person who ever truly understood me, would go out of their way to make sure that I was okay. I was inconsolable. I sat in my old room for days, just staring at pictures of her and asking God why he had to take her away. Why he couldn't let her stay just a little while longer" tears began to fall down her face and she tried to wipe them away but more soon took their place.

Feeling awful that he had made her cry he got up and told her that he would be back with some tissues. She nodded and continued wiping her eyes, small hiccups now escaping her throat.

Walking back into the bar he went over to the kitchen area and grabbed a handful of napkins then hurried back out to Emaline who was still crying. He handed her the tissues and she thanked him, quickly dabbing at her face and sniffling all the while.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked, I can see that it's a sore subject for you. We can talk about something else if you want?" he had pushed her too far. While he had wanted to get some information out of her he didn't want to bring the poor girl to tears. He wasn't a monster.

"It's okay. It feels good to talk about it. I haven't talked about it in so long that I guess the old wounds that had scabbed over opened up. Anyway, it wasn't too long after that I noticed something about me had changed and I didn't know what that was until-" just as she was going to reveal the purpose of her "trouble" the lights in the bar flickered out and the people inside grew quiet.

Rising from the chair he looked around. From the other houses and businesses he could see his was the only place that had lost power. Sighing in annoyance he turned to Emaline who was looking around uncomfortably.

"I'll be right back. It's probably just the fuse box. Won't take too long. Just sit tight and I'll be right back, I promise" reentering the bar he made a quick announcement that it was just the fuse and the light should be on shortly.

Before going to the supply room where the fuse box was located he told Mark to keep an eye on the register and liquor. He didn't want any thieves taking the opportunity to steal from the bar.

Making a pit stop in his "office" which was really just a place where he kept the books, he snagged the flashlight out of the emergency kit and after making sure the batteries were still good left for the supply room.

As soon as he entered the room he felt like he had stepped foot into a horror movie. Currently he was in the moment of the film where the person, usually a hot girl with too much cleavage showing, entered a room by herself and had unknowingly entered the killer's trap. All the while the viewer was screaming at the screen to get the f**k out of there! But of course she can't hear you and she soon meets her demise in some gruesome fashion.

He only hoped his fate would turn out differently.

Clicking the flashlight on he waved the beam around, looking for the metal box that he knew hung on a wall somewhere.

He had been searching for about three minutes now when the light flashed over a familiar metal box, he almost missed it but came back to it and walked over to it. Wedging the flashlight on his collarbone and angling his head down to keep it in place he unlatched the box and pulled the lid open. What he saw made his stomach drop.

The wires had been cut. It looked like someone had take, scissors to them and slashed every last one of them.

Needless to say it wasn't a fuse that had blown.

He was preparing to book it out of there but before he could even take a step he was struck with a blunt object and blacked out.

~Break~

It was almost three in the morning when Audrey's cell phone rang. Groaning in annoyance, not wanting to emerge from dream world yet but she had to admit defeat when a thunderous banging erupted from her door. Eyes shooting open she almost fell out of bed in her rush to get up and see what the hell was going on.

Making her way to the door, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She could just make out the blurred shadow of a person. Unlocking both locks she swung the door to a disheveled Nathan.

"Duke's missing" all it took was that one statement to completely wake Audrey.

"When?" now remembering that she was only in a silky blue tank top and short shorts she ushered Nathan inside and went to get dressed.

"About two hours ago. One of his waitresses went looking for him and after he didn't come back from fixing a fuse" he was trying to get into cop mode now. Putting all his emotions in a lock box so that he could focus but the lock was rusted and beginning to fall apart.

"Are we sure he's missing and not in his boat somewhere" it wouldn't be out of character for him to up and leave without telling anyone.

She came out of the bathroom now wearing jeans and shirt. Nathan shook his head, "from what she told me when she entered the supply room she didn't find him and when she checked the fuse box all the wires had been cut. Someone lured him there Audrey" pulling on her boots she grabbed a jacket, her badge and cell phone off the nightstand before reaching for her sidearm.

"Do we have any leads? Witnesses?" she continued her questioning as she led Nathan out of her apartment and down the stairs to the bar.

"No one's talking and there are multiple suspects who have a grudge with Duke" there were three cop cars parked in front of the Grey Gull and when they entered the bar there were officers questioning patrons and employees while CSU took photographs and searched for evidence. Five crime scene lights were set up to compensate for the darkness.

"Do you think this has something to do with the case we're working? Duke was inquiring about it and he did have two run ins with our suspect" she hoped not because otherwise he could already be dead.

They entered the supply room and carefully stepped around a CSU person who was collecting the shards of a broken beer bottle.

Walking over to the fuse box Audrey leaned into get a closer look.

"The wires are sawed through, so obviously they didn't have a very sharp blade" pulling back she turned to survey the room. From what she could tell there didn't appear to any signs of a struggle so judging by the shattered bottle it's probable that the attacker subdued Duke by surprise by breaking the bottle over his head.

Stan came into the room and strode straight over to them. "I have a waitress out there who says she saw Duke talking to a woman on the deck right before the lights went out" finally having something to go on Nathan and Audrey followed Stan back to the front of the bar and over to a young woman who was sitting on a stool.

Putting on a kind smile Audrey approached her, Nathan staying a step behind.

"Hi, I'm Detective Audrey Parker and this is my partner Chief Wuornos. You said that you saw Duke talking to a woman shortly before the lights went out?" she looked down at the woman's nametag and saw her name was Melissa.

Melissa nodded, "yeah, I was serving and I looked out to the porch and saw that Duke was talking to this woman. I didn't get a very good look at her but I could tell that she had blond hair, pale skin...and she was wearing a gray dress" she recounted, a silent video of the woman playing in her mind.

"Do you think you would be able to pick her out in a photo lineup?" Audrey had an idea who the woman was but all she had was her gut to go on and while sometimes that was enough evidence was stronger.

"Maybe but I didn't see her face so I don't think I would be much help. I'm sorry" she looked down at her lap, saddened at the limited information she could give them.

Audrey touched her arm, "you've been a huge help. Thank you for your time" pulling away she motioned for Nathan to follow her out to the deck.

~Break~

When Duke regained consciousness his vision was obscured by a strip of material and his head felt like a semi had run over his head multiple times. Trying to move he found that his movement was limited by the restraints he could feel around his wrists and probably ankles as well.

Focusing on his surroundings he used his other senses to get an idea on where he was being held. It was cold, the whistle of a breeze and the creaking of rotting boards suggested that he was in a decrepit structure and he could smell the sea which told him that he was near the ocean.

The creaking of hinges alerted him to his captor's presence.

"Knocking someone out from behind is the coward's way. I would've preferred it if you took me head on" he listened as the footsteps came closer then stopped what he guessed to be in front of him.

His captor still didn't speak.

Duke was starting to get uneasy. Even though the person still hadn't spoken he could practically feel the hate that the silence emitted.

"I told you to stay away from her" the voice said, icy venom coating each word. He knew that voice!

"Sarah" he breathed. Suddenly the blindfold was ripped off and a light blinded him. As his eyes began to adjust to the light he could see that she was holding something in her right hand. Looking back up at her he tried to come up with some kind of elaborate plan that would get him out of this but he was coming up blank.

"I've seen the way you treat women. You flirt them up, buy them a few drinks then take them back to your boat and sleep with them and when you're done with them you toss them aside and never call them!" she spat. Her hands jabbing wildly with each word and when the object in her hand caught light from the lantern hanging from a hook he saw that it was a knife, a rather dull one at that.

Duke was starting to wonder if he had at one point had a one night stand with her and just couldn't remember or the other option was that she had merely coined him as a stereotypical ladies man.

"I'm sorry that you think I'm some kind of guy that treats woman like crap and that I didn't stay away from your friend. But I haven't had a one night stand in months and Emaline came to me" he was aware that it probably wasn't the best thing to say but his mouth had gone rogue.

"Don't you ever say her name" she growled, pressing the dull blade to his throat which wasn't all that painful but still had the ability to inflict harm so he wisely kept his mouth shut.

Breathing heavily, her grip never letting up, he struggled to take a breath as his Adam's apple was being pressed into. Eventually she pulled away and walked to the other side of the small structure.

Now being able to breathe properly he took the respite to analyze Sarah's behavior. He was by no means a psychologist or maybe in her case psychiatrist, but by the way she was acting it was almost like she had feelings for Emaline, feelings that went beyond platonic.

Thinking back to Audrey and Emaline's words he was beginning to get a picture of how deep her feelings went.

"You love her" he hadn't meant for the words to come out but they had and now he was going to have to deal with the outcome.

~Break~

Out on the deck Nathan and Audrey were now in a relatively quiet area so they could talk without interruption.

"This doesn't make sense. If Emaline was with Duke the entire time then who cut the wires in the fuse box? She has to be working with someone" the answer was on the tip of her tongue but her mouth wouldn't form the words.

Nathan was thinking along the same lines when his phone rang. Digging into his pocket he took the device out and answered.

"Wuornos" he automatically answered.

"Chief this is Tim, I got the information you wanted on that woman. Her name is Emaline Dautrieve, thirty-four years old, address 712 Huntington Lane, no priors and it says here that she's employed at the Haven Travel Agency" this made Nathan take pause.

"You said the Haven Travel Agency?" he had to ask again to make sure he had understood and for Audrey's benefit who was now listening in.

"Yeah, I can get you the address if you want"

"No, that's okay we know where it is. Thanks Tim" giving an acknowledgement they both hung up.

"Now we can connect her to both victims only problem now is finding her before someone else gets hurt" Audrey stated, looking around the deck as if she would magically appear.

"Let's try her house first. I'll call the judge on the way and tell him we won't be needing that warrant anymore" following Nathan back through the bar, informing Stan to call them if anything came up then Audrey followed Nathan to his truck.

"We still need to figure out who's helping her, what that friend of hers, Sally or Sarah?" she voiced, buckling up as Nathan pulled away from the bar and out onto the road.

"We also need to get a confirmation on this friend's whole name so until then all we have is Emaline to go on. Here, the judge's number is the tenth one under the judge Kilson, tell him we no longer require the warrant but to be on standby in case we need another one" Nathan's eyes never left the road.

Audrey didn't comment that she didn't need to be treated like a rookie because she knew that Nathan was under a lot of stress.

"We're going to find him Nathan" she assured him, reaching over to pat his arm. She noticed that he didn't even react at her touch like he normally did, which shot up a red flag to the severity of the situation.

They needed to find Duke.

~Break~

She froze, her back to him and the knife in the perfect spot to catch a ray of the moon through a hole in the roof.

It was clear that Sarah was protecting Emaline, in her mind at least, but that begged the question: was Sarah the one behind the murders or was she only doing this to cover up Emaline's crimes? Both made sense but which one was the truth? Or was there another possibility he hadn't considered?

Turning back around to face him she walked back over to him. Her grip on the knife so intense that her hand was chalk white and the bones in her hand and fingers pressing so forcefully against her skin that it looked like they could pop out of her skin.

"I've always been there for her. Every time some ungrateful bastard, slime ball broke her heart I was there to comfort her and assure her that there was someone out there who would treat her like the angel she is! Someone who would cherish her...but she kept dating these horrible men who would use her, make all these promises and then break her heart!" she ranted, sounding and looking like a man woman who should locked in a padded cell.

"So you decided to take action. You would hurt everyone who hurt her or who you see as a threat to her happiness" this was really starting to look like he might not walk away from.

"She needs me! I'm the only one who can protect her!" the psychotic side of her was starting to come into full bloom.

"I can understand wanting to protect the person you love but you are killing people and yes they may have their faults, everyone does, but killing them won't solve anything. She is going to have her ups and downs but that's life! No escaping that!" he didn't know where this was coming from but it seemed to be having some kind of effect on her so he hoped the words continued to flow.

"I realize that I don't know Emaline nearly as well as you do but I can tell that this isn't the person she wants you to be. You're a hero to her. She admires you and what you're doing now is tainting that image. Do the right thing and let me go" he was praying that his words were getting through to her, that she would realize that what she was doing was insane and put an end to the madness.

~Break~

Pulling up to Emaline's address they saw that a light was on which hopefully meant that she was home. Checking their side arms just in case they got out of the truck and walked up the three steps to the small white house.

As they approached the strong perfume of flowers and other plant life invaded their senses. A dozen different plant life paved the pathway and the flower beds around the house. But what was fascinating about the plants was they didn't recognize any of them. Putting that aside for later they stopped at the door and knocked.

After waiting a few minutes Nathan was about to knock again when the door opened and Emaline was standing before them.

"Yes?" her voice was soft and she would only briefly make eye contact with them before having to look away. This could indicate that she was trying to hide something but Audrey had a suspicion that it was just an unfortunate characteristic.

"Are you Emaline Dautrieve?" though they recognized her as the woman from the sketch they had to be sure.

"I am, who are you?" the look she was giving them now was one of anxiety.

"We're with the Haven P.D. I'm chief Wuornos and this is my partner Detective Audrey Parker. We need to ask you some questions about the deaths of Jerry Cummings. Angela DaLaney and the disappearance of Duke Crocker. My we come in?" it was more of a demand then a request and Audrey could tell that he was forcing himself to remain civilized until they got the information that they needed.

Emaline's eyes widened and her jaw became slack. "They're dead? I just saw them yesterday, they were fine. How can this be happening?" turning around she walked back into the house, leaving the door open.

Taking this as an invitation they entered the house and closed the door then followed Emaline into the living room. Just like the front yard the house was filled with unique plant life that perfumed the air.

"Ms. Dautrieve, we know that you worked for Angela DeLaney and were in a relationship with Jerry Cummings, you were also one of the last people to talk to Duke" Audrey began, watching her every move to gauge her innocence.

Emaline was silent for a moment as she nervously fingered a rose that she had plucked from one of the vases on the coffee table.

"You think I have something to do with all that?" she deduced, still not looking up from the rose.

"Have you heard of the troubles?" Audrey went straight to the point, no more time for skating around it. Emaline stopped with the rose and looked up at them.

"Yes..." her voice was cautious, not entirely sure where they were going with this. Audrey knew that it was against protocol to give civilians important details in the case but when it came to the troubles protocol went out the window.

"Emaline, Jerry and Angela's hearts were literally split in two and there was no evidence of incisions being done meaning that it happened inside of their bodies" Audrey watched as Emaline's face paled and she visibly gulped.

"That's awful, they didn't deserve to die like that and yes I-I had issues with them but I would never do that, I couldn't! My trouble isn't anything like that" tears were in her eyes and her hands were shaking.

Nathan and Audrey exchanged a look then returned their attention to Emaline who was trying to get herself together.

"What is your trouble?" Nathan asked, leaning forward in the chair he was occupying.

She sniffed and dabbed her eyes a few more time then answered, "I can combine plant life and make different combinations of them. Watch" picking up the rose she reached into another vase of sunflowers. Taking a petal from each she laid the rose petal on top of the sunflower. Audrey and Nathan watched transfixed as the petals melted together then bloomed into a completely different flower. It had the seeded center of a sunflower and its petals were rose like but colored yellow and red in specks and flecks.

"A month after my mom died I went out to visit her grave and I was carrying two pots of her two favorite flowers, lilacs and dahlias. When I was putting them down a few petals came off and while I was picking them up I saw them blend into each other and become this whole new flower. After some practice I found that I could combine up to four different plants. That's my trouble but I don't see it as one, it's more of a gift, a blessing" she explained picking up the flower and placing it in a separate bowl filled with other flowers.

Having lost her as the main suspect in the murders and Duke's disappearance Nathan and Audrey had to reevaluate the evidence.

Their answer came in the form of a call from Stan at the station. Nathan answered on the third ring.

"Chief we found a print on the fuse and got a hit in the database. The print belongs to a Sarah Bellinger. She has two priors for assault and vandalism"

He looked over at Emaline. "Do you know a Sarah Bellinger?" at the question she sat up straigher.

"She's my best friend, why? Is she okay?"

Going back to the phone call he didn't think to answer her question. "Put an APB out on her and if anyone finds her I want to be informed immediately" hanging up he pocketed the phone and addressed Audrey.

"Sarah's fingerprints were found at the scene on the fuse box" he informed her, his voice low but that didn't prevent Emaline from overhearing him.

"Sarah did this? I can't believe that. She would never..." realization dawned on her and her eyes widened in shock.

"She followed me. I told her that I was going for a walk to clear my head and she must have seen me with Duke" she seemed to be talking to herself. Her voice in disbelief and a hint of fear was mixed in.

"We need you to think Emaline, where would she take him? A place she would feel safe in or one that you two frequented?" Audrey asked her, not able to hide the urgency in her voice.

Anxiety filled her entire being as she tried to think. "Um...I-I don't...wait..there was a shed that we used to play in out in Tiller Field" Nathan and Audrey rose from their seats and headed for the door. Emaline hurried after them.

"Please don't hurt her! She's only doing this because she thinks she's protecting me" she insisted/pleaded as they opened the door and stepped out. She continued to follow them.

"Please let me go with you. I can help! She'll listen to me!" she continued, now standing on the end of the pathway as they opened the doors to Nathan's truck.

Looking across the hood at Nathan Audrey silently asked him if they should take her along. His lips thinned in a frown and his body vibrated with impatience.

"She'll get in the way and if it comes down to it she won't let us do what needs to be done" he didn't have time to argue and it looked like Audrey was gearing up for an argument so before she could get started he gave in and told Emaline she could come but to stay with them and behind them at all times.

All three got into the vehicle and sped off to Tiller's Field.

**I'm been kind of disappointed with the lack of reviews for this story so please, please review I really need the encouragement. **

**Once more please review!**


	4. One Heart Broken And Another On The Mend

**Hey everyone here's another update. Hope you have or had a fantastic Halloween!**

Chapter Four

For a moment it seemed like he was getting through to her, that she may actually let him go but all hope was trampled when she shook her head, as if shaking loose his words, and pressed the tip of the blade into his jugular. Not enough to draw blood but enough to hurt.

"Shut. Up. I don't want to hear anymore of your psychological crap! Everything I do, I do to protect her and I'll do anything to make sure she's safe and happy, even if it means condemning my soul to damnation" without breaking eye contact she took the blade away from his throat and coldly slammed the blade into his arm. He screamed in agony from the current of pain that flared up his arm and worsened when she pressed down further.

With the blade so dull she had had to put a lot of force behind the stab showing how deceptively strong and determined she truly was.

But what she hadn't realized as she gripped the handle of the knife, the blade still embedded in his arm, was that the edge of the blade had pinched her skin hard enough to draw blood. So as Duke was rapidly losing blood a lone drop of Sarah's blood landed on his arm and was quickly absorbed.

The familiar yet terrifying surge of power flowed into his very core and he was unable to see it but he could feel when his eyes changed to silver. Knowing that his time was limited he pulled at the restraints that bound him, the power coursing through him temporarily numbing the pain as he ripped himself free and threw the horrified woman across the small room where she was promptly knocked out.

As the power that had given him strength drained out he could feel the pain once more along with the dizzying effect that the blood loss was taking on him. Fighting through the pain he took a breath and pulled the blade out. More blood gushed in its wake and he tossed it to the side. The blade too dull to be used as an effective weapon.

He picked up the lantern to look for something to stem the blood flow. He didn't want to have to sacrifice his shirt due to the freezing weather he could feel seeping in through the thin walls but it looked like he didn't have a choice as he found nothing.

Setting the lantern down he fought through the pain as he tugged his shirt off, the chilled air making his skin prickle but also give him an alertness that he needed. He mentally cursed that the one day he wasn't wearing layers was today of all days. Finally getting the shirt off, the dizzying now borderline unconsciousness, he used some of his sapping energy and ripped the shirt in two and used one of the strips to tie around his arm.

He gritted his teeth as he tied the rag as tight as he could, praying that he didn't pass out. When the tourniquet was tied he carefully approached the still form. Just like in the supply room he felt like he was in a horror movie and in this moment the monster/killer has just been wounded in some way and is lying motionless on the ground. The "hero" or "heroine" is approaching the body the monster/killer suddenly gets up, scaring the hell out of them and is ready for another round.

Having to stop every once in a while to regain his bearings he finally reached her side and knelt down to dig around in her pockets for a phone. His own back at the bar in his coat. Thrilled at finding one he took it out and was even happier to find that it didn't have one of those annoying passwords.

He tapped out Nathan's number, having to focus more than usual to get the right sequence. Double checking to make sure that the number was correct he then connected the call.

He jumped, or in his rather weakened state hopped, when Sarah groaned but she wasn't moving yet so he had a few precious seconds left before his time ran out.

The moment he heard the click he was prepared to tell Nathan every bit of information that he could but before he could Sarah had gotten up and dug her fingers into his wound and his vision blacked out for a moment as his throat was scraped raw from the shrill of his scream.

Forced to drop the phone he collapsed onto the dust coated floor. Inhaling the dust he coughed and hacked, tears coming to his eyes from the inability to breathe.

"I guess I'm not the only one with a secret" walking over to him she raised her foot and pressed down on his right hand, not letting up until an audible sound of bones popped. Another scream escaped him, but this one was much hoarser than its predecessors.

Picking up the phone she took a moment to listen to the male voice call frantically for Duke before throwing the phone against a wall where it split into several different pieces. For good measure she crunched the bits under her shoe then walked back over to Duke who was struggling to get up.

"I won't let you come between us" she sent a well aimed kick to his ribs that sent him back down to the floor. She used her foot to roll him onto his back. Kneeling down beside him she started to concentrate , her eyes zeroing in on his face.

The effect was instant. It felt like his lungs had been filled with ice and someone had reached into his chest and put his heart in a vice grip. His body started to go numb and stiffen but before he lost all feeling and was no longer able to move he accessed the primal part of himself that would fight for its last breath.

Lifting his good arm he lashed out and managed to make contact with her face. The crunch of bones was the only warning he got before the surge of power went through him.

Once again it was his "trouble" or rather curse that had saved him and he wasn't too thrilled with that knowledge because though it may on occasion save lives it could also take them.

Eyes flashing silver the pain that he had been experiencing was gone, the most obvious one being the crushing of his heart. He rose from the floor. Even though the rage in him was telling him to break a few of _her_ bones he suppressed the voice and instead turned and ran out of the small structure.

As soon as he opened the door the cold air that rammed into him didn't register until the abnormal strength that fueled him started running out. Clinging onto the dwindling supply of strength he dashed outside into what he saw as a field.

No clear landmarks to tell him where he was he continued running in the opposite direction, the only clear path he had in mind was as far away from Sarah as possible.

He tried to keep going, even after his lungs had become engulfed in flames and his heart nearly jumping out of his chest. But all it took was a fallen log to send him tumbling to the ground. Dirt, grass and sticks kissing and licking his face while the unforgiving solidness of Mother Earth dug deep into his skin. He was unable to get up.

In the distant he could hear the fast approaching footsteps of who he was positive was Sarah. Chest heaving, limbs throbbing from overexertion he looked up at the sky and watched as a flock of birds flew in a V formation above him. They're calls to one another echoed in the air.

The world continued to go on even though his own life felt like it was coming to an end.

The footsteps came to a stop and were substituted for panting. She had found him.

Now would be a great time for a grand entrance Nathan.

~Break~

When they were only a mile away from Tiller's Field Nathan's phone rang. He didn't want to take the time to answer it but it could be the station. Still driving with one hand on the wheel he dug the phone out of his pocket and answered it, even though he knew it was illegal.

Before he could speak a loud cry of pain blared in his ear and he was forced to take the phone away from his ear. Audrey and Emaline had heard the cry as well and were of course startled by the wounded-animal quality of it. It didn't take a genius to deduce that the scream had come from Duke who had probably tried to make the call.

"Duke! Can you hear me?!" he heard the faint voice of a woman saying something but he could only catch the last two words, "a secret" followed quickly by a hoarse scream and a distinct popping sound.

"Listen to me you f**king bitch when I find you I'm going to-" before he could finish his threat the call was suddenly dropped.

He hadn't realized it until he looked down at the speedometer that he was going well over 75. It was a miracle that he hadn't crashed. Easing up, only slightly, on the gas he turned a sharp corner and quickly had to right the wheels before the truck tipped over into the rocks down below.

Carelessly tossing the phone aside he flexed his hands around the wheel. Taking in deep breaths he tried to calm himself down; he knew that he couldn't go into this in a rage. People would get hurt.

Audrey looked worriedly at him. Nathan's violent burst of rage had put her on edge and judging by the shaky breaths, Emaline as well. Turning around she gently touched the hand that had a death grip on the seat in front of her. Her pupils were blown wide and she was struggling with each breath.

"Emaline, look at me and concentrate on my voice. Your having a panic attack. Breathe with me Emaline, just do as I do" as gently as she could she pried her fingers off the upholstery and placed it on the center of her chest. With each breath Audrey took Emaline's hand moved up and down. Slowly her breathing began to return to normal.

"That's it, just relax. You're doing so good" Audrey coached, rubbing the hand on her chest with her thumb. Finally her breathing returned to normal and Emaline pulled her hand back. A slight sheen of sweat was visible on her forehead and her hands were shaking a little from the adrenaline the attack had brought on.

"Are you going to be okay?" Audrey asked, concerned that she was going to have another panic attack. Emaline nodded, her pulse going back to normal.

Audrey exchanged a look with Nathan, a little bit of it was irritation for upsetting Emaline but a huge part was concern for him. After his outburst she was afraid what he would do to Sarah when he saw her.

~Break~

She was standing over him now. Chest heaving, posture rigid and her hands in tight fists at her sides.

Gathering strength that he didn't even know he had left he pulled himself up from the ground and took a step back. A part of him wanted to turn and run but in his weakened state he knew he wouldn't get very far. He wished he would have brought the knife with him now, even though the blade was dull.

"I am tired of chasing you down. Be a man and accept your fate. There isn't another soul for miles and these trees are dense so no one will hear you scream" she listed as she walked towards him.

Instinctively Duke started walking backwards, almost falling a few times but managed to keep himself upright.

"C'mon Sarah think about what you're doing! You're throwing you're life away because when my friends catch you, and believe me they will! They will put you away in a cell somewhere where you will rot and Emaline will be out in the world alone because of the choices you made!" he was running on steam now. No longer concerned with treating her like a dangerous mental patient but as a person who was making horrible choices.

His words deflected off her. Her face set in stone and her steps sure and calculating.

Without comprehending it they had stepped out of the forested part of the field and were fast approaching the edge of the cliff. It was when the crashing of the waves reached his ears that he stopped and looked behind him to the view of the vast ocean. Looking back at her he could see that she had stopped as well.

Everything about this moment was cliché. The "hero" and the "villain" at a standoff at the edge of a cliff, the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks and now all that was missing was the rain pouring down accompanied by a thunder and lightning storm erupting in the background.

The was not the way he had pictured himself dying. It was supposed to be at the hands of someone with a tattoo of the guard and he couldn't see one her on her. Maybe Vanessa had been wrong, as unlikely as that was, and his fate was to die at the hands of a psychotic woman who could rip hearts in two with the power of her mind.

~Break~

Arriving at Tiller's Field they got out of the truck, guns drawn, and approached the shed Emaline had led them to. Emaline was keeping in step behind them, her eyes warily eyeing their guns.

Stopping outside the door Nathan counted to three on his hand then opened the door and Audrey burst inside, her gun out in front of her, finger on the trigger and Nathan slipping in after, his gun ready to fire as well.

The shed was empty aside from a chair in the middle of the rotting floor and a lantern that was on the floor as well. Slowly lowering their guns, still prepared to fire, they walked deeper inside.

Emaline entered once the shed had been cleared and she looked around at what had once been a magical shed filled with endless adventures and a means of escape from a harsh reality.

Audrey walked over to the chair and with the aid of the outside light could see the drops and small puddle of blood that had accumulated on the right arm of the chair and the floor around it.

"Nathan" she called, her voice serious and eyes never leaving the blood.

Stepping away from the lantern he walked over to her and looked down to see the blood that she had found. He sucked in a breath and had to look away, his mouth set in a firm line and his eyes pinched close on their own accord.

"Um guys..." Emaline's small gasp caught their attention and they turned to see her pointing to a bloody knife on the floor.

As Audrey moved to go to her Nathan grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her back. "I may not be able to stop myself, you might have to subdue me" he whispered, his voice low and shaky.

Now knowing what to say to that all she could do was nod and walk over to Emaline to get a closer look at the knife.

Nathan looked back down at the blood. From the location of the blood it had likely come from his arm. This greatly concerned him because the arm housed a lot of arteries and all it took was cutting the wrong one to bleed out.

Walking away he went over to Audrey and Emaline to get a better look at the knife. The blade was dull and crusting in blood and the handle was a faded sea foam green with writing on the end, maybe a logo that had been worn out.

"I can't believe she's doing this" Emaline walked herself out of the barn with Nathan and Audrey in tow.

"Where else would she go? It'd have to be somewhere close by" Audrey questioned. She was about to answer when an agonizing scream broke through the air silencing them.

"Duke" locating the direction the scream had come from he bolted. Not slowing down at all so that Audrey and Emaline could catch up because there wasn't time.

~Break~

The showdown that had been going on between them had come to an end and Sarah meant business when she took one step forward and a deep rage filled concentration took over her features and the lung squeezing torture recommenced. The constriction of his lungs was trying to over take him so before he lost the ability he sucked in his remaining air and let loose a bone rattling scream. All on hope and chance alone that Nathan and Audrey were close enough to hear him.

The moment the searing pain began to boil his heart all the air was sucked from his lungs and he found himself losing all the feeling in his body.

Sarah just stood there, watching, no emotion whatsoever.

In the haze of the numbness he didn't see that he was only a step away from going over the edge. Vision darkening and his hearing fading he could only just make out the shapes of Nathan and the sound of his voice along with Audrey's.

~Break~

Bursting out from the foliage Nathan was confronted with the sight of Duke at the very edge of a cliff in excruciating pain and their murderer/kidnapper in the process of adding another murder to her list of crimes.

Reacting quicker than he could comprehend his gun was drawn and his finger pressing against the trigger but before he could get a shot off Audrey stepped in front of him, blocking his target.

"Get out of my way Audrey" he growled.

"Let me try talking to her" giving him a meaningful look she turned around and approached Sarah who by now had noticed their arrival.

"Sarah, my name is Audrey. I'm with the Haven P.D. I'm going to need you to stop what you're doing to Duke and talk to me" getting closer to her she stopped when she was a foot away from her. Her hands raised in a non threatening manner.

"He needs to be punished. I told him to stay away from her but he didn't listen! All I need to do is get rid of him and I'll stop. Emaline and I will go somewhere where no one will bother us and we'll be happy!" her voice shook and her eyes were glossy with unshed tears.

Audrey looked over at Duke who she could see was struggling for each breathe. It looked like the attack on his heart was over for now.

"But you don't know that. The world is filled with people Sarah, you can't escape them forever and yes it's horrible and sad but no matter what you do Emaline will get hurt and killing people and running away isn't going to solve anything, it'll only make things worse" her words were getting through to her. She could tell by the way Duke's color was slowly returning and the tears that were starting to fall from Sarah's eyes.

"I just want her to be safe" she choked out. The fire that had been enraged like an inferno had been snuffed out.

"She knows that and she truly looks up to you" from the corner of her eye she could see Emaline hovering in the background, anxious to come to talk to her friend. Ushering her over Emaline quickly rushed over to her and put on a shaky smile.

"Hi Twinkle" her own eyes began to tear up and she quickly wiped them away. She looked over at Duke who was still having difficulties breathing but no longer in danger of suffocating. A part of her took the time to wonder why he was just standing there.

Looking back at Sarah she embraced her in a hug. "I am so grateful for everything you've done for me. You're my best friend, my confidant and my guardian angel but you don't have to do this. Please stop this and come home" she begged, not relinquishing her hold even when she could feel tears staining her shirt.

Pulling away from Emaline she had tears cascading down her cheeks and Emaline soothingly rubbed her shoulders it appeared that her reign of terror was over.

They were wrong.

"I want to come home...but not until I know your safe" her eyes zeroed in on Duke once more.

His lungs were frozen over and his heart was being seized again.

With only a split second time to think Nathan fired off a single bullet that traveled through the air and hit its target. The back of Sarah's skull.

As her body fell to the ground Emaline screamed in horror and anguish as her best friend dropped to the ground, lifeless, with a hole in the back of her head and small bits of brain matter sticking in her hair and in the grass. A weeping trail of blood made its way down her neck.

The sign they received that her assault was over was the audible intake of breaths that Duke inhaled and exhaled along with the stiffness of his posture going away.

But as in almost all heroic stories, the fates were not done with him yet. With the surprise that being able to breathe right brought came the tingly return of feeling to his body and in the effort of getting rid of the discomfort he took a step back and quickly found the world upside down with the crashing waves fast approaching.

~Break~

"Duke!" tossing his gun aside Nathan sped past the women and with pure grace dove head first off the cliff's edge. The moment his body was completely submerged all noise ceased and his senses were filled with nothing but never ending murkiness of the salt water.

Though he was unable to feel he was aware that if he stayed under and in the water he could die of hypothermia and drown. There was also the risk of keeping his eyes open for too long and having saltwater damage the fragile nerves in his eyes.

Taking a painstaking moment to close his eyes he then reopened them and did a full 360. His sole focus was to find Duke and get him back to shore.

When his vision started to blur and his chest and head became heavy he knew that he needed to swim up to get some air. Kicking up he broke the surface and breathed in long gulps of air then dived back down.

Swimming a little further he continued to only see the vast black water, the schools of fish and waves of bubbles that clouded the water with every move he made. He couldn't see Duke anywhere. What if he had been swept miles away by the unforgiving waters and his body would never be found.

He had to find Duke.

Making another journey up for air then he went back to searching. Time didn't seem to exist beneath the water and it was like he had dived into a whole new world that hadn't yet been contaminated by the poisonous touch of man. If he wasn't undertaking the perilous task of rescuing Duke he might have taken the time to admire the beauty that surrounded him.

Just as he was about to go up for his third trip of air he spotted the submerged floating form of Duke only a yard away. Not willing to let him get away he ignored his body's mute need for oxygen and swam forward.

He had been in the freezing water for so long that his limbs had begun to stiffen and he found that he couldn't swim as fast as before. The waves seemed to be working against him, a few times he was pushed far back in continuous attacks and he fought the invisible forces that were keeping him from his goal.

With a few powerful kicks he made it through the invisible barriers and finally made it to Duke. His usually tied back hair was floating above and around him like a halo and his eyes were closed. In a way he looked serene but then Nathan saw the blood that was floating upward and around him reminding him that they weren't here for a casual swim.

Grabbing hold of Duke around his midsection he moved without thought. Placing his mouth over Duke's he pried his mouth open with his tongue and breathed air into his lungs. He did this a few times then he kicked them both up to break the surface of the water and Nathan took the time to inhale large amounts of oxygen, all the while swimming towards the nearest shore. As he swam he took notes from his time in mandatory CPR classes and breathed a few breaths into his lungs every five seconds. He wasn't responding.

Duke was getting heavier with each stroke and there were a few times that he lost his grip and almost lost Duke to the ocean once more but quickly grabbed him by his arm and pulled him back.

On the shore he could see Audrey waiting for him with what looked to be the blankets from his truck.

When he made it to shore he dropped Duke on the sand and was soon on his knees, checking Duke's pulse. There was no pulse and he obviously wasn't breathing. In the background he heard footsteps approach but he paid them no mind.

It wasn't until Audrey dropped down on Duke's other side and placed her hands between Duke's nipples, prepared to do compressions if needed that he acknowledged her presence.

Nathan leaned over Duke and opened his mouth to check his airways. It was clear. Moving on to the next step he pinched the bridge of Duke's nose and placed his mouth over Duke's and breathed. Pulling back he waited a second to see if it would have any effect but seeing none Audrey started the compressions and the fight to save Duke continued.

With each breath that was sent into his lungs Duke's chest rose and fell but he still didn't wake up. Audrey would periodically check his pulse but was dismayed to find that it remained an un-beating organ.

They had been switching jobs on and off and were now approaching two minutes. As soon as Nathan and Duke had both gone over Audrey had called 911 with their location but was afraid that the paramedics wouldn't get there in time.

Duke's skin was pasty white and his hair and pants were stiff with drying salt water. With every compression and life saving breath his body moved and looked like a ragdoll and the thought that Duke could be permanently gone from her life struck her and she faltered in her next compression.

The nearest hospital was almost three miles away and they would have enough difficulties finding the path that led down to the beach. Duke was running out of time and there were only a few grains of salt left before there was no chance of saving Duke.

Just as her faith was ebbing away she felt a faint flutter beneath her fingers. At first thinking it was her imagination she felt around and once again felt the faint flutter of a pulse.

"Nathan, I've got a pulse" she announced. There was relief in her voice but Duke wasn't out of the woods yet.

Putting an end to compressions Nathan focused on breathing air into his lungs at five-second intervals. Three and a half minutes in Duke's body suddenly jerked and Nathan pulled away just in time to avoid knocking heads. Duke's eyes shot open and a squirt of water shot out of his mouth but before he choked Nathan turned him on his side and was unable to look away as water and vomit exited his mouth bringing with it the stench of spoiled milk.

Using his finger he wiped the vomit that lingered in and around his mouth then repositioned him on his back. Duke coughed a few more times, his body painfully contorted with each unsettling cough before the coughs turned to light occasional ones and he was able to speak.

Looking up at the darkening sky he couldn't help but be transfixed by the stars that were starting to become more prominent. His throat felt like sandpaper had been shoved down his throat and his limbs were as stiff as dead twigs. The stench of salt and vomit irritated his senses and his pants were stiff with salt.

"Well, that was fun" he flippantly said his voice raspy and low but the near death experience was still unable to hinder his witty attitude.

Chest slowly rising and falling to a more natural rhythm Duke started to sit up but Nathan pushed him back down.

~Break~

"Just lay still Duke, you could have some broken bones or internal injuries" he notably left his hand on Duke's shoulder longer than was strictly necessary of which Duke and Audrey noticed, before pulling his hand back almost reluctantly.

Duke wanted to laugh at the absurdity that had just spewed from Nathan's mouth but Nathan wasn't too far off with the broken bones theory, the slightest wrong move made his chest feel like he was being pricked with millions of needles.

Audrey draped a wooly blanket over Duke and handed one to Nathan, ordering him to wrap it around himself.

"Where's Sarah?" Duke suddenly asked, looking around wildly for the woman that had tried to kill him.

Audrey looked over at Nathan, silently telling him that it was up to him. He knew that Duke would find out eventually but he didn't want to tell Duke about what he had done. Now that the direness of the situation was over with he thought back on the reasons behind his shooting of Sarah.

It was true that his actions had saved Duke's lives, and possibly countless others but he couldn't deny the fact that he didn't have to kill her. He could have shot her in the arm or any other area where there would be minimal damage but he wasn't thinking clearly, he had only been thinking of saving Duke and not the consequences his actions would have.

This wasn't the first time he had been forced to kill someone. One of the hazards of being a police officer was that a time may come where you would have to take a life. It was just unfortunate that he had killed more than once.

"Guys quit treating me like a kid and tell me what's going on" Duke ordered, growing impatient with the long silence.

Sighing Nathan bit his lip and told Duke the truth. "She's dead Duke, I...I shot her" he confessed, his head tilting down of his own accord in guilt.

Duke didn't know what to think of this revelation. Nathan had taken a life, in order to save him. He was aware that Nathan was only willing to do so many things for him but never in his wildest dreams did he think that he would kill for him.

In the approaching distance the sound of sirens reached their ears. "Ambulance is on its way" Audrey noted, not really needing to be said but needing to break the awkward silence somehow.

"And Emaline?" he had seen her briefly before he had fallen off the cliff.

She had been horrified at the sight of her best friend being killed right in front of her. You mainly only hear about how the shooter felt before killing someone. A lot of the time, in the case of criminals, they had felt rage before killing someone and hatred up until they fired the shot, then many felt elation or nothing at all after the deed had been done.

But what about police officers, granted a few of them tended to be dirty, but the good ones who followed the laws they enacted? Nathan had told him once, when they had been at a high point in their relationship (and drunk), that the first time he had killed a man was when he was just a rookie.

His partner and him had been patrolling in their police cruiser when a call came in about a domestic dispute that had turned violent and the wife was scared for her life. Calling in his partner, officer Mitch Zimmerman, told Laverne they were en route. Turning the car around they drove to the address.

They were just approaching the door when a gunshot resonated from inside quickly followed by a scream. Stepping back Mitch kicked down the door and they rushed in, announcing themselves as police with their guns out in front of them.

The husband had a .42 caliber aimed at his bleeding wife who had been shot in the left leg. When they told the man to drop the gun and get down on his knees with his hands on his head. He refused, instead taking a few steps towards them. The gun now aimed at them. The man fired off a shot and would have hit Nathan if Mitch hadn't pushed him out of the way in time, narrowly escaping the bullet himself. In the process Nathan's gun had gone off and hit their perp. in the chest. It was pure luck or rather bad luck in the man's case that the bullet had hit such a fragile area.

In the report it had gone down as an accidental shooting and death of one Darryl Hunter. But Nathan drunkenly slurred that sometimes it didn't feel like an accident. That sometimes it felt like the hands of fate had hijacked his gun and forced him to bring about the order of things.

But what about the wife who had seen her husband, abusive yes, but a man she once loved, killed in front of her? There had been instants where such an onlooker had sought vengeance, whether it be in court or with a weapon of their own choosing and that was done with rage and/or sorrow or there was also justice (i.e. revenge). He knew there were more emotions than numbers for the world changing events that drove people to commit such acts so he couldn't list them all.

He wondered what emotions were strangling Emaline at this very moment. Was she plotting revenge? Did she understand Nathan's actions and accept them with great reluctance? Or was she just numb? It wasn't too hard to figure out that Nathan felt like Atlas holding up a world of guilt, struggling under its massive weight and dreaming of respite. If there were other emotions they were far too buried by guilt to be distinguished.

"She's in shock. I didn't have to try too hard to get her to come down here with me. As soon as we reached the beach she just collapsed and stared out at the water. She's having difficulties processing everything" it would definitely take time for her to "process" what had just occurred and there were so many other hurdles in the near future.

The stinging tingling sensation that started at his toes from the moment he had become conscious had rapidly moved up his body. Logically he knew that being able to feel, no matter how much it hurt, was a good sign considering what a lack of feeling could indicate but he desperately wanted the maddening pain that was quickly consuming his every thought to end.

The time for discussing the events was put on hold when the ambulance pulled into the small roadway. The paramedics jumped out and got their kits and a body board then hurried as fast as they could to them to get to work.

They asked Duke questions as they checked his pulse, things like if any part of his body hurt, if he was feeling nauseas or light headed. General medical questions like that. Another paramedic was trying to examine Nathan as well but he wasn't having it and kept insisting that he was fine. A scolding look from Audrey though made him promise to go to the hospital to get himself checked out. The last paramedic was tending to Emaline. She had placed a blanket around her and looked to be asking her questions but she didn't respond, continuing to stare out at the water with a far off look in her eyes.

As Duke was strapped onto the board and about to be carried off he made eye contact with Nathan and gave him a small smirk and just for a second Nathan returned the sentiment then returned to his usual blank stare. From that small almost insignificant moment, the jagged crack that had separated them was edged a little closer to sealing itself back together.

~Break~

Nathan and Audrey watched as Duke and Emaline were whisked away in the back of the ambulance.

"Are you going to be okay?" Audrey asked, mainly referring to Sarah's death.

She was aware of the psychological consequences discharging and consequently killing a suspect could have and she knew that Nathan wouldn't seek help on his own so it was up to her to drag him to the department's psychologist and get him to talk about what he was going through. She wasn't going to let Nathan isolate himself. Not only was that a serious risk to himself but potentially to the people around him when he finally exploded and unleashed everything that was clawing up his insides, fighting to be cast loose.

"Depends on your definition of "okay." I killed that girl Audrey. I didn't have to use a fatal shot" walking away from her he headed back to the top of the cliff, Audrey stood there for a moment, absorbing his words then followed him.

**A/N: I hope you all liked the update and please review. BTW there are only two chapters left so keep reading!**


	5. Victim Of A Love Triangle

**Sorry it took so long to update. My beloved cat, who I loved and cared for for close to 12 years passed away and I was really upset. RIP Smidgen, I'll always love you!**

Chapter Five

Police, CSU and Dr. Lucassi had arrived at the scene a half hour after Audrey had called them while on the road to Tiller's field.

Nathan had wanted to stay to help out with the scene but she had insisted that he go with Stan, who she had asked to drive him, to the hospital. After surrendering his car keys and service gun. The main reason that she didn't want him at the scene was because he was injured and could be suffering from other injuries as well. But it was also in part because she didn't want Nathan to have to be around Sarah's body more than necessary.

In time she would have to accept the fact that Nathan was a grown man who didn't need nor appreciate being coddled but for right now she was using the situation to her advantage.

Approaching a CSU she informed him of the situation and handed the gun off into an evidence bag. She then walked over to Dr. Lucassi and watched as he examined the body. She noticed that he was paying special attention to the bullet hole in the back of Sarah's head. Currently he was photographing the gruesome sight.

"Good news is that from what I can currently tell she probably died quickly, don't know if that's much of a consolation" Audrey knew he had spotted her in his peripheral vision but there were still moments that felt like he just "knew".

"He didn't have a choice. She was going to kill Duke and maybe others" she reasoned but by the look he gave her they both knew there other options Nathan could have taken.

Rising from the ground he dusted his knees off and motioned for his assistants to get the body in the body bag and into his transport vehicle to bring back to his lab at the station.

"How's Nathan handling this?" it may not always seem like it but Dr. Lucassi did have feelings and Audrey was aware of the odd friendship the two had developed.

"Like he always does. Bottling it up and on a timer to implode when he's alone. He might be a pro at covering up his feelings but he can't fool me. He's beating himself up about this and I'm afraid he might drown himself in a bottle" she voiced her concerns as they walked to his van.

"Nathan's resilient. He'll be hurting for a bit but something or some_one_ will lift his spirits and maybe then some of the pain will fade" he assured her as they stopped in front of his van as his assistants were loading the body into the back.

She didn't comment on the suggestive look he threw her at "someone". It wasn't her that Nathan was in love with and a part of her hurt at that fact. She did have feelings for Nathan that had been developing since their first meeting. He was an attractive, agile man with cool blue eyes, a low voice that could be filled with so much emotion and the way he cared for his friends and the people he considered family was more than endearing, it was intoxicating.

She had tried burying her feelings in other men like Chris and a few casual dates but she could never seem to shake the feelings she had for Nathan. When he told her that hers was the only touch he could feel she had been elated. It was like fate! They were meant to be! And she was sure that he had developed feelings for her as well what with all the casual touches, the "non-date" situations they constantly found themselves in along with the way he smiled and laughed with her.

But she had been wrong. Nathan was doing the same thing she had been doing with Chris: trying to bury his feelings in someone else. He was in love with Duke and she could tell that Duke was in love with him as well.

As much as it pained her, she had to put aside her feelings and push those two together because God knows they were too thick headed to do it themselves.

~Break~

Nathan was seated on an examination table, his jeans off and in the middle of getting his stitches for the wound from the keys on his thigh. From what he had discovered once a doctor noticed he was bleeding at some point his keys had impaled themselves into his skin and him cursed with total numbness hadn't noticed until he was informed from another source. He was actually stunned that Audrey hadn't noticed.

The doctor that was doing the stitching had treated Nathan various times before so he didn't take the time to numb the area, it was naturally numb, he only cleaned the wound, gave him a tetanus shot (just in case) and started right in. Another quality that Nathan liked about Dr. Coster was that he never tried to make small talk, unless of course he could sense that he needed noise to distract himself from the thoughts in his head. Now was one of the those times.

"My granddaughter came to visit me up from Boston. Brought me this candy I've never heard of- joyfuls - it's this candy that is cashews, peanuts, almonds and honey covered in caramel and chocolate. Tried one piece and nearly went into diabetic shock! Too rich for my blood but she seemed to enjoy them" he wasn't expecting Nathan to respond, he was merely playing the role of white noise.

Dr. Coster continued to prattle on, filling the void with just the kind of distraction that he needed. He wasn't listening to the words but the constant sound of his voice helped keep his mind from wandering to dark places.

When he had been brought in, with Stan tagging along to make sure he saw a doctor, he had asked about Duke and they had told him he was in surgery. He had wanted to interrogate the nurse further but Stan forcibly dragged him away, his eyes on Dr. Coster across the room.

One look at Nathan in his still slightly wet clothes, hair plastered to his head with sticky salt water, a wool blanket over his shoulders and blood that was slowly seeping through to the front of his jeans he merely frowned. Not saying a word he motioned for Nathan to follow him.

An hour later after a thorough examination and a change into a dry shirt he was only a few stitches away from getting off the table and putting the puke green scrubs on. His own clothes were in a plastic bag beside him, along with the blanket.

Dr. Coster cut off the excess thread then layed ointment over the stitched area and covered it with gauze bandage.

"Don't get the stitches wet, be sure to apply the ointment twice a day: once in the morning and once at night. Also, do be sure to watch the area for signs of infection-redness, puffiness etc. and if you get sick come back and we'll see if its anything to be concerned about. You can wear the scrubs out, you're in here often enough where you can bring them for your next patch up" it was supposed to come off as joke but there were too many grains of truth in that statement to make it funny.

Getting up from the table he picked up the scrubs and pulled them on. He hated the way the fabric of the scrubs felt against his skin and there was no escaping the fact that he was a patient, an unwilling one at that.

Walking out of the room, his bag of belongings in hand, he walked down the hallway back to the nurse's station to continue his interrogation.

Spotting the same nurse he walked up to her and was noticed immediately by the rustling of his bag. "Your friend is still in surgery Mr. Wuornos. Dr. Peters is one of the best surgeons we have to offer. Mr. Crocker is in very capable hands. If you want you can wait here in the waiting room and I'll inform you when he can have visitors" though she had said it in a pleasant way, smiling sympathetically and talking to him in a soothing voice he knew that she was beyond irritated.

Knowing better than to try and persuade her to tell him sooner he walked away and sat down in one of the many plastic black chairs.

Duke was in surgery. His injury had been severe enough that he needed to be put under the knife. It seemed that in the last twenty-four hours the feelings he kept locked up in the very back recesses of his mind had sprung a leak and a steady stream of words and images began to build up into an abyss.

Images of Duke lying on the beach. Staring at him with that infuriatingly charismatic smirk he was constantly seen wearing. Then the images traveled to Duke bleeding out on the table and there was nothing the doctor's could do. No he couldn't go there! If his thoughts strayed back there he was afraid of the repercussions.

A distraction! Audrey, he could call her and ask how the case was wrapping up. Shuffling the contents of the bags around he located his phone but when he tried to turn the phone on not only would it not turn on but water dribbled onto his hand. Aggravated he tossed the phone back in the bag and snatched his badge.

This time there was a different nurse at the station. She looked up at him. "Can I help you?" she asked, giving him her full attention.

"I'm Chief Wuornos with Haven P.D. is there a phone that I can use? And preferably not a payphone" She appeared to think about it for a moment before she picked up the phone on the other side of the counter and set it down in front of him.

"I can give you five minutes so be quick" sitting down in the desk chair she got back to work.

Dialing Audrey's cell number he impatiently waited for her to pick up. "Come on Audrey pick up, pick up!" the nurse gave him an odd look so he turned away from her and continued waiting.

"Hello?" She answered, the caller ID probably coming up as Haven Regional Hospital so the cautious and slightly scared voice was understandable.

"It's Nathan. I'm just calling on the hospital's phone because my phone got ruined. How's the case wrapping up?" he watched as a teenager who was scraped up and cradling his arm was led down the hallway by a nurse.

"Dr. Lucassi is examining Sarah's body right now and CSU just finished going over the scene. That pretty much just leaves the report" she waited a moment before continuing,

"how are you? What did the doctor say?" he thought about down playing his injuries out of habit but then thought better of it because for one his injuries weren't that bad and two she would and could find out on her own.

"I got some stitches, a tetanus shot and the doctor did a thorough examination. Nothing serious" he assured her, now leaning against the counter.

"That's good. I was worried you might've caught pneumonia...how's Duke?" she hesitantly asked, aware that he had made no mention of him yet.

And the distraction stopped there. At Duke's name the gory, gut wrenching images of Duke in various stages of death and dying flashed in his mind.

"Nathan?" she searched, wondering if they're connection had failed.

"He's in surgery. They won't tell me what's going on because I'm not "family" I'm the only person who's there to be his family" he ran a hand down his face and looked at the doors to the E.R.

"I'm sure they're doing everything they can for him. Just try not to piss the nurses and doctors off or else they won't tell you anything and force you to leave. I'm just finishing the scene up now then I'll come to the hospital and wait with you" she told him, getting into Nathan's truck and starting the engine.

"Okay, I'll see you in a bit" he turned back around, "he's going to be okay" she repeated, making sure to try and cement that thought into his mind before hanging up.

~Break~

The smell of cleaning products and recycled air assaulted his senses when the morphine began to wear off. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and groaned in dissatisfaction when the smell didn't go away. On his first attempt to open his eyes it felt like they had been glued shut, the drugs they had used to put him under still coursing through his system. His second attempt was more successful, he managed to slit his eyes open but the lights in the room made the white walls in the room too intense and he had to shut his eyes immediately.

The sound of squeaking shoes alerted him to someone entering his room and he panicked for a moment when he could feel a presence beside him but reminded himself that he was in a hospital and it was probably just a nurse.

Going on that instinct he spoke, "would you mind turning the lights off? My eyes are kind of sensitive right now" the scratching of a pen or pencil stopped.

"Of course, and I'll tell your doctor that your awake" listening to her footsteps he could tell when she reached the switch and silence was followed as she completed the task of dimming the lights.

"They're dimmer now sir. Dr. Peters will be in shortly" once he could no longer hear her footsteps he carefully opened his eyes, testing the waters, and finding that he wasn't as photosensitive he opened them all the way.

The room was your generic brand: white walls, linoleum floor, two uncomfortable black plastic chairs against the far wall with one beside the bed, a window with cheap hotel curtains and a metal door that he assumed led to the cramped bathroom.

Sitting up as much as the IVs connected to him would allow he looked down at his bandaged arm. At the moment he was so doped up on pain meds. that he couldn't feel anything but from what the doctor had told him once the pain medication had worn off it was going to hurt like hell and he was going to need some physical therapy to regain complete mobility of his appendage.

What had happened was the knife that Sarah had stabbed him with had damaged a few of the nerves in his arm and they had had to go in and repair them before the damage worsened.

At the moment his arm was wrapped in medical gauze with pins keeping the gauze in place that traveled from his wrist up to his elbow.

What he hated the most was the pale blue hospital gown that he had been forced into at his arrival . The fabric was so thin that you could almost see through it, it was also so short that if you were just a little too tall it looked more like a shirt and of course the open back that tied together but still managed to expose your underwear, or in the worst cases, your ass.

When they were talking about blood types and transfusions Duke had grown a little concerned. What if they gave him "troubled" blood? Would that have an even greater effect on him and make him possibly more uncontrollable? Or would it kill him? He had almost voiced his concerns but then thought better of it. It was possible that they were not aware of the troubles, however unlikely, and would think that he was delusional from the blood loss or having a psychotic break and put him in the mental asylum for a mandatory 72 hours psych evaluation.

All he could do was pray to Buddha that the blood wasn't troubled. Thankfully it would seem that the blood had not been that of a troubled person or the drugs they had used to put him under had subdued the effects, though he was pretty sure the drugs wouldn't have been enough.

He wondered if Nathan was here...His musings were interrupted when Dr. Peters walked in with a clipboard in hand.

"Good to see you awake Mr. Crocker. You'll be glad to know that the surgery was a success and I fully expect you to make a complete recovery with at least 3-4 months of physical therapy" he assured as he walked closer to the hospital bed.

"Thanks Doc. So, how long am I going to have to stay here?' he knew that he was going to have to stay at least a night or two but that didn't mean that he was at peace with that.

"I'd have to say probably 2-3 days, possibly longer. It all really depends on the rate at which you recover" he answered, looking at the machines that he was hooked up to.

"Don't suppose if I told you I was feeling great you would let me go home today?" he smiled, though he knew there was no chance of that happening, but he had to try.

"Nice try, but until I say differently your staying here" closing the folder he gave Duke his full attention.

"How are you feeling? Nauseas? Tired? Nurse Chantell told me that you were experiencing photosensitivity. Are you still experiencing that?" Duke got comfortable,

"no nausea at the moment, I'm a little tired and as far as the light goes I'm not too sure at the moment" he answered with complete honesty, knowing that there was no point in lying.

Nodding his head the doctor walked over to the switch and brought the lights up a few notches. "How is your eyesight now?" he questioned, watching his reaction intently.

At the increase Duke's eyes took a few moments to adjust but once they did he found the light no longer bothered him.

"It doesn't hurt anymore so I guess that's a good sign" he responded, playing with the fabric of the hospital gown.

"That's all very good Mr. Crocker. If you need anything or feel sick at all just press the button on the chord by the bed and a nurse will come. Do you feel up to visitors today? There's a Nathan Wuornos and Audrey Parker waiting to see you" he read the names from a post it note attached to the clipboard in his hand.

"Yeah, yeah send them in" at the mention of Nathan he sat up a little straighter and pulled the thin blanket higher up his waist. There was no way he was going to let them see the embarrassing get up he was in.

Nodding his head the doctor informed him they could have 15 minutes then he would have to get some rest. Reluctant, but not wanting to lose his visitors right he agreed then waited as the doctor left to inform the nurse's station that Duke could have visitors now. A few minutes later Nathan and Audrey walked in.

~Break~

After what felt like an eternity Nathan and Audrey were informed that they could see Duke now.

Following a nurse they stopped outside Duke's door and were told what to expect before they entered.

"He's hooked up to some machines but don't worry because most of them will be gone by the morning. The doctor's have him hooked up to a transfusion and pain meds. to keep the pain at bay. Don't be alarmed if he looks a little pale, he did lose some blood but as I said we have him on a transfusion so his color will return. You have fifteen minutes so use your time wisely" opening the door they entered the room and were greeted by Duke.

The nurse had been right when she said that Duke would look pale, his usual olive skin was almost ashen white and his dark eyes seemed darker than usual.

"Hey guys, welcome to my depressing abode" he joked, a little laughter lighting up his face.

"It's good to see you up Duke. You must be feeling better" Audrey noted as she walked over to the chair beside the bed and sat down. Nathan pulled up one of the chairs against the wall and sat down in it by the bed.

"I am, but not enough to convince my doctor that I am well enough to go home" he replied, a wide smile spreading across his face at the small smile that lit up Audrey's face. He looked over at Nathan and for the first time noticed what he was wearing.

"I see I'm not the only one who was playing patient. What was your prognosis?" he asked, looking him over and not seeing any obvious injuries or signs of illness.

"I had to get some stitches and a tetanus shot. Nothing big. How's the arm?" he nodded his head towards the bandaged arm.

"It's a little sore but not as bad as it could have been" it was nice talking like this, the setting could be better, but it felt like they were just three normal people talking about how they're day was going.

Inevitably, as good of friends as they were the awkward silence set in and the three didn't know how to get out of it. Audrey knew of a way though, but it would require that she leave the room.

Getting up from her seat she stretched then picked up her coat from the back of her chair.

"I'm going to grab some coffee. I'll be back" before Nathan could ask for a cup as well she was already gone.

And then there were two. The silence that had been awkward went up five degrees and they were looking anywhere but at each other.

"Something tells me she's not coming back" Duke suddenly stated. Audrey had taken her jacket with her, the hospital was heated so there really was no need for her to wear her jacket unless she wasn't coming back.

He looked over at Nathan and saw that he was shaking his head, an annoyed look on his face like he knew something.

"What?" if there was something going on between the two he wanted to know.

"It's nothing Duke, just drop it" Nathan looked up at him, the blank scowl that he was well known for had a few cracks and dents in it. Not one to usually let things drop until he had thoroughly exhausted all his resources he pressed on.

"What, did you two get in a fight or something?" the involuntary twitch of his eye revealed that he had hit the mark or was very close.

He had figured out Nathan's tell long ago when they were kids and they had just learned how to play poker. It hadn't changed and because of that Duke usually had a pretty good idea when Nathan was lying or keeping something from him, like now.

"I'm going to find out eventually Nathan. Audrey lives right above my bar, all I would have to do is go up there and ask her a few questions" he threatened, and one that they both knew he could accomplish.

"We got into a little disagreement about my cliff diving stunt" though his eyes were looking directly at him he couldn't stop that left eye from twitching ever so slightly.

"While I do believe that she would be considerably pissed at you for doing that dumbass stunt I know that's not what's going on. Tell me the truth Nathan. My delicate psyche can handle it" he mocked, now in full on attack mode.

Nathan's hands were clasped together and his foot was tapping out a fast paced rhythm. Visibly gulping he stood up from the chair and started to pace, doing everything he could to get rid of the excess adrenaline that was trying to overflow.

"Look Nathan, if this is about Sarah you did what you had to do. Taking a life, even if it is to save others is still a hard thing to accept. It's like you told me about how you felt like fate had hijacked your gun and forced you to kill Darryl" stopping Nathan looked down at the floor.

"She didn't have to die. I...I let my emotions cloud my judgment. A simple shot in the shoulder or leg could've distracted her long enough to get you out of danger. Because of me a girl is dead and another one is traumatized" Nathan still wasn't looking at Duke, not wanting him to see how vulnerable he was and risk infection by the potentially dismissing look he was sure to receive.

~Break~

Duke contemplated Nathan's words. The several meanings that the single word "emotions" could mean running through his mind. Did he mean emotions that one would have for a friend? They're friendship had seemed to become a little more humane and enjoyable over the past few months. Of course they had their ups and downs. They could now stand to be in the same room with each other and not just throw snide remarks at each other. Sometimes they had actual civilized conversations.

Perhaps brotherly feelings? While they're friendship had evolved into something a little more positive it wasn't quite at that level yet. Maybe very distant brothers who only ever saw each other when a relative died.

There were many other possible options but the reason that he secretly longed for was way in left field and out of bounds.

But he had to know. Something about the way he hesitated around the word and wouldn't quite make eye contact was getting his hopes up for an admission that he knew could not be true.

"What "emotions" Nathan?" his voice was low, cautious, not sure if he truly wanted an answer.

His back to him Duke could see the tremors rocking Nathan's body and he wasn't sure if he was going to explode or break down so he prepared for both.

The universe really seemed to want to drive Duke insane because a nurse walked in and froze at the moment she had obviously interrupted.

"Sorry to interrupt but visiting hours are over. You can come back tomorrow and visit Mr. Crocker again" she stood uncomfortably by the door, a shy smile on her young face and her voice filled with young optimism.

In Nathan's case though this was a blessing. He had revealed too much and now Duke was getting suspicious. When he talked to Audrey next they were going to have a serious talk about meddling in other people's love lives.

Walking over to his chair he picked up his bag of belongings. "I'll see you tomorrow Duke. Good night" heading for the door Duke shot out one last statement before he was out of earshot.

"This isn't over Nathan" pausing for a second he silently nodded then sped out of the room and around the corner.

Sighing he laid his head back down and looked up at the ceiling. The nurse sheepishly walked over to his bedside and checked the bags of pain medication and blood transfusion.

"Sorry about that. You guys really seemed to be going at it. I hope you guys work it out" she said as she picked up his chart and made a few notes.

"Me too" he whispered, staring at the door.

~Break~

Nathan exited the hospital and looked around the parking lot. He spotted his truck in the third lane along with the figure of Audrey Parker waiting in the driver's seat.

Determination filling his steps he stalked over to the truck and opened the passenger's side door then got in, pointedly slamming the door closed once he was in.

Audrey didn't start the truck.

"I know what you were doing back there and I would appreciate it if you would stay out of it" he was trying to control himself, on the very edge of letting loose the twister of words that he was keeping inside.

She didn't respond, continuing to stare ahead out the windshield. He knew what she was doing. He had done interrogations as well and right now she was trying to manipulate him with silence into confessing his guilt. He could do this dance as well.

"I feel like going for a walk. I'll see you tomorrow Audrey and you can just leave my truck at the station" he opened the door and had one foot out when she broke her silence.

"Nathan wait!" he stilled, her words unspokenly admitting defeat.

"I don't need your help. Duke and I will only ever be (distant) friends. Now please drop this and never bring it up again" he requested, his eyes digging into her with his eyes.

"Fine" starting the engine she pulled out of the spot and headed for the Grey Gull.

They were silent during the drive. Nathan out of frustration and Audrey resignation. When they reached the Gull they both got out.

As Audrey was headed for the stairs to her apartment she could no longer take the silence and spun around before Nathan got back in the truck.

"I just need to know something! Why him? What's so special about Duke that...that you would choose him?" the unspoken *over me* was not needed. She couldn't keep it in any longer. Those questions had been boiling inside her since Nathan's very subtle confession and they had finally bubbled over.

He sighed and debated in his head what his best options were: he could ignore her completely, get in his truck and drive. The con of that decision was that he couldn't avoid her forever and she could give as good as she got. The pro: he could keep being ignorant and not have to admit the truth. The second option was he turned the subject back on her and ask her why cared so much about his love life. The pros and cons went on for miles. Option two was looking better and better.

Seeing that he wasn't going to answer she was about to turn and go up the stairs but Nathan found himself stopping her.

"It started the day he carried me to the hospital when I broke my arm. Even with all the crap he did to me growing up I couldn't let my feelings for him fade. But he can never know. He'd probably throw me off his boat then make sure that I knew the feelings weren't mutual" he blurted, turning to face her.

He was met with stunned silence and the shocked face of Audrey. Her mouth opened and closed before her voice returned.

"O-okay, wow. Th-that's great I-I mean that you can still care for him even after all he's put you through. I'm going to go upstairs now. Goodnight Nathan" scurrying up the stairs she disappeared into her apartment.

Looking after her Nathan got into his truck and drove off. Hating himself for unveiling the secret he had been taking extreme precautions to protect.

~Break~

Closing the door behind her Audrey pressed her back against the door and slid down to the floor, her knees tucked up under her chin. She banged her head against the door and looked up at the ceiling. She kept her eyes open to dry them out in an attempt to evaporate the tears that were trying to accumulate.

She had tried to convince herself that she could put her feelings aside, that she could deal with Nathan's feelings for Duke but she couldn't have been more wrong. Why couldn't she have kept her mouth shut? Knowing that Nathan had feelings for Duke was heart breaking enough but hearing that he had had feelings for Duke that dated back to their childhood was like someone had placed her heart in a blender and set it to grind.

The dam keeping her tears back sprung a leak and soon the whole structure came crashing down. Tears gushed down her cheeks and smudged the mascara she was wearing, leaving her skin slick and sticky. Her breaths were coming out short and choppy, making it difficult to breath and her body was shaking with every cry that left her lips.

Tonight she could grieve for her broken heart and try to learn to accept the fact that Nathan would never love her like he loved Duke but in the morning she would have to construct a mask that would be able to withstand the heartbreak that she was suffering.

In the scheme of love it was inevitable that someone would get hurt and it would seem that the victim in this love triangle was her.


	6. The Mask Falls Off

**Final chapter guys and I have to say that I'm pretty disappointed with the extreme lack of reviews so I guess I will call my foray into Haven Fanfiction a failure and most likely won't be trying again. For the few who did review thank you!**

**BTW This chapter is definitely Rated M due to m/m sex and language. You have been warned. **

Chapter Six

Duke was finally discharged from the hospital a week alter due to an infection that had set in. After another shot of painkillers he had been given along with a prescription for more pain medication in emergency situations and an appointment for physical therapy in three months he was free to leave.

When he walked outside he looked around the parking lot, stopping when his eyes came across Audrey waving at him from beside her car. A part of him was disappointed that it wasn't her cranky partner.

Going as fast as his injured arm would allow he moved over to her and she carefully embraced him, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder for a few moments before relinquishing her hold.

"How are you feeling?" she asked once they were face to face again.

"How come that is always one of the first things people ask when someone gets out of the hospital? I've never understood why people say that. Why not: how's your day doing going? or what do you want to do now?" he ranted, his good arm enunciating his words.

"Well you obviously had a dream vacation" Audrey voiced sarcastically, but she had a feeling the words weren't really directed at her.

Duke heard the sarcasm in her words and looked at her apologetically, "sorry Aud, I've just been asked that question everyday for the past week and I guess I kind of took my frustrations out on you" she frowned but nodded her head in understanding.

"It's okay. So do you want to to go the Gull first or your boat?" she asked as she opened the driver's side and unlocked the passenger's door.

"The bar. I've got to see for myself what Mark's been doing with my bar" slipping into the car Audrey waited until Duke had buckled up then drove for the Grey Gull.

As they neared the Gull Duke could no longer hold in the question that had been gnawing at him from the moment he saw Audrey.

"Where's Nathan?" he didn't have to look at her to know that his question had struck a chord. It took Audrey a moment to come up with the right words.

"He's been busy. As is procedure he had to see the department psychologist and she's apparently having him see her two more times this week then he might not have to go back" she answered, surprised at how easy the words flowed out. It was the truth though, Nathan had been seeing the department psychologist and the paperwork for the Bellinger case had taken some time. But apart from that she didn't know what Nathan was doing after work hours because he had closed up on her and declined her offers to go out and talk.

"It's kind of hard to imagine Nathan lying on a couch talking about his feelings" he chuckled but the laugh came out hollow.

"I take it he didn't visit much" she derived, the hurt that she had seen in his appearance and words creating a picture.

He was silent as he analyzed what would be appropriate but not reveal too much. "Once" the single word conveyed enough for Audrey to understand the hurt that Duke was enduring but the restraint he was struggling to keep up against the other words that wanted to tumble out.

Audrey stopped at a stoplight and chanced a glance at Duke as she waited for the light to change.

"I'm sure he wanted to visit more but it probably just slipped his mind" she cringed at her own words. She sounded like a divorced mom explaining to her kid why daddy didn't come to their birthday or something.

"Sure" right now all he could speak were monosyllabic words. A coin stuck in the gears preventing motion.

The light turned and the rest of the drive was spent in silence until they reached the Gull which was moderately filled with the breakfast crowd.

Duke got out of the car and gathered his small bundle of belongings from the back then headed for the entrance. He patted the door frame affection ally as they passed through, silently announcing that he was home.

They approached the bar and Mark looked up from his newspaper and smiled.

"Hey boss, good to see you back. Can I get you anything?" he asked putting the paper aside.

"Good to be back and thanks man but I can get it myself. You can take the rest of the day off as well to show my gratitude for taking care of the Gull while I was away" Duke awarded him as he went behind the bar to get himself a small glass of orange juice.

"You want some" he offered, indicating the juice with his index finger.

"No thanks" she decline watching as he took a healthy swig from the glass. When he had his fill he set the now empty glass down.

"Have you seen Emaline?' he had been really concerned for her since that day on the cliff. He was aware that they had both been taken to regional but it wasn't like they were close friends so he hadn't made an effort to seek her out. That was something that he seriously regretted when he thought back to how tortured she was and still is over the death of her best friend.

"I took her statement a few days ago. She was still too upset to speak to me and I was advised by her the psychologist who's been treating her to give her some time before speaking to her and to tread lightly. She was still really upset but she was venting her anger and sadness into creating new beautiful plant species. It's going to take a while but I believe she will heal, eventually" she had explained to him Emaline's "trouble" or in her own words "gift" and Duke had to agree that "gift" was the correct terminology.

The conversation stalled, having gotten a little more depressing then intended.

"I am glad you're feeling better Duke. * Long pause* when you went over the edge everything began to feel surreal. As you fell my heart skipped a beat and I couldn't move but Nathan he didn't even stop to think he just dived off the cliff after you. He truly does care for you...and I felt awful thinking this but I was sure that you were dead" her voice cracked and she wiped the tears that were silently streaming down her face.

Hating to see her cry he walked out from behind the bar and did the best he could to hug her. "Don't worry I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, after all who else is going to be a nuisance to Nathan?" he assured her, not letting go of her until she was ready.

Curious patrons and wait staff watched the scene but wisely made no comment.

"I think Nathan would miss your "charming" presence too" at Nathan's name she was once again reminded of the secret she had been hard pressed into keeping.

Pulling away she wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks. "I'm going to go take a shower. I've been so busy at the station that I've hardly had time to come home" she walked as she zipper her jacket back up.

"I'll see you later then" he said as she walked to the door. She waved in farewell then left. Pursing his lips Duke poured himself another glass of juice and walked out onto the deck where he wasn't at all surprised to see Nathan standing on the small boating dock looking out to sea.

He stood for a moment and contemplated what his next move should be. Audrey's words echoed in his head "he truly cares for you" what did that mean? As a friend? A brother? Distant cousin? He couldn't dare think that it was anything but familial even though he wished with his whole heart and soul that it was.

But the emotions and heartbreak that he saw and heard in Audrey wouldn't stray and his mind couldn't help but flashback to all the small touches that Nathan had been trying to subtly get away with, especially the moment on the beach after Nathan and in part Audrey had rescued him. Nathan's hand had made a home on Duke's exposed shoulder for a noticeably long time and the only reason he had removed it was because he saw that they (Audrey and himself) had noticed.

There was also the moment in time, just as he was falling, that they had made eye contact and he was able to see the terror, anguish, anger and one other emotion that he was only just starting to put a name to, he wanted to hope-dare to believe-that it might be...love.

Shaking his head he scolded himself for even thinking that and set his mind back to concentrating on finishing his juice but a chilled breeze dug its icy claws into his skin and he shivered. Setting his glass on the table he zipped his jacket up and as he was reaching for his glass to go back inside he thought of Nathan and turned to see that the man of course had no jacket on whatsoever.

Not wanting the idiot to accidentally get himself sick he made a quick detour inside the bar to grab the jacket he had left in his "office" then hurried back outside.

He was still there when he returned.

"It's below 50 out here man and knowing you you've probably been out here for hours" he scolded as he walked up to Nathan who continued to stare out at the water.

He held the jacket out to Nathan but when he didn't immediately take it he sighed, "do I have to treat you like a toddler and put it on you? Because I will" he threatened, watching Nathan intently to see what he would do.

Finally acknowledging him he took the slightly too large jacket and slipped into the garment, zipping it up and stuffing his hands into its pockets.

His silence continued.

Duke figured that his best option was to walk away but the dominating part of him that cared for Nathan wouldn't let him, insisting that he stay put and wait but for what? He wasn't one hundred percent sure.

The silence continued for only a few moments longer before Duke spoke, deciding that he would continue to try to initiate a conversation.

"How long have you been out here Nate? The Gull's only been open for about a half hour now" he looked closer at Nathan's ears and saw that they were a dark pink, almost red and his lips were starting to turn blue. It had been way too long.

"That's it, you're coming inside with me and I'm putting you in front of the heater" he grabbed Nathan's arm with his good hand and tried to drag him along but Nathan resisted and shook him off.

Duke was about to speak again but Nathan interrupted him.

"Emaline came to see me" his voice was emotionless and his words made Duke take pause. He didn't disrupt Nathan as he continued to talk.

"She told me that she understands why I did what I did but she wishes that I would have missed. A part of me agrees with her but a larger part, the one that dominated my thoughts didn't care what happened to Sarah, only...only what happened to you" he looked down, ashamed at his wall that kept back his feelings as it started to deteriorate.

Duke was stunned into silence. Out of all the likely things Nathan could have been leading up to that finale hadn't even crossed his mind and especially with the raw emotion that was behind Nathan's words.

"When I went into that barn where she had been keeping you my mind immediately went to the conclusion that you were dead and when I saw the blood...I wanted to kill her. I told Audrey that she might have to stop me but obviously that didn't happen" his laugh was hollow.

"Sometimes I wish that my emotions were numb too because then I wouldn't be able to feel at all and I wouldn't be in so much pain. I can never win Duke, I want to be able to feel but not this, this isn't what I meant" his shoulders trembled but no tears fell.

The shocks continued to roll. This was probably the most emotional conversation they had ever had and it felt alien. This was completely out of character for Nathan, he usually kept all his emotions bottled up and only made appearances around Audrey.

It seemed that the bottle had shattered.

"I'm thinking about going away for a while. Get away from all...this and try to pretend that I'm normal and not some senseless freak" his voice was bitter and even managed to leave a bad taste in Duke's mouth. One of the multiple aspects of Nathan's "trouble" was that he couldn't turn it off. At least with Duke's he could steer clear of turning his curse on by avoiding troubled blood but there was no escape for Nathan, except for when he was with Audrey.

The taste in Duke's mouth turned sour.

He knew that Nathan wouldn't be able to feel his touch but hoped the gesture came across as the comfort he was hoping as he placed his hand on Nathan's shoulder.

Nathan had seen the action from corner of his eye and tried to will his mind into connecting what he saw to physically feeling, taking the "if I can see it I can feel it" approach.

"Far be from me to advice against a vacation, especially for you, but I've tried escaping Nate and I never got that far. Somehow something always pulled me back here. The thing about escaping your troubles is that you never really escape them at all, they tag right along with you and just build up until they consume you" he hadn't meant to go all philosophical but it got his point across: leaving wouldn't solve everything, at least not forever.

"I always wondered why you came back" Nathan muttered, subconsciously relaxing into Duke's touch, even though he couldn't feel it.

"The quaint scenery?" Duke joked and both shared a laugh. When the laughter died down silence followed but instead of being uncomfortable it was surprisingly comfortable.

Duke became conscious of the fact that his hand was still on Nathan's shoulder and he grudgingly pulled his hand back. He tried not to notice the saddened slouch of Nathan's shoulders but it left a spike in his secret hope.

"We should head inside, it's only going to get colder out here and Audrey will be pissed if we get ourselves sick" psychically knowing that he would follow Duke turned and headed for the Gull with Nathan eventually following.

On the way back in Duke grabbed his glass of orange juice and dumped the small amount out into the sink, no longer in the mood for the tangy drink.

"You want something to drink?" Duke asked from behind the bar. It was by far one of the worst ways to drown your troubles but Duke would cut him off if necessary.

"Whiskey please" Nathan perched himself on a stool and rested his arms on the bar top. The emotions he had shown outside deflating into exhaustion.

Picking up a clean glass Duke uncapped the whiskey bottle and poured him a small amount before sliding the glass over to him.

"Thanks" picking the glass up he took a long drink, not wincing as the strong drink went down his throat nor the warmth that filled his belly after.

"Audrey's been worried about you, something about declining drinks and conversation after work?" he watched Nathan's reaction and unexpectedly saw annoyance in Nathan's eyes and face. What was that about?

"I know she just wants to help but I hate being coddled. Everyone's been walking on eggshells around me at the station like I'm going to lose it at the slightest breeze" he took another long drink from the whiskey and effectively finished the drink off. Tapping the rim of the glass Duke purposely poured him a little less than last time, not wanting Nathan to get wasted.

"She cares about you and doesn't like to see you hurting. You might want to slow down there a little Nate" he cautioned as he watched Nathan throw back the whiskey in two gulps. Setting the glass down Nathan considered asking for more but he wisely thought better of it and turned the glass over. He didn't feel like dealing with a hangover, even if he would really only be dealing with keeping his stomach contents down.

"Do you ever wonder what life would be like if the troubles never existed? Would our friendship still be as fractured as it is today?" the question seemed to come out of the blue and took Duke a few minutes to respond.

He had thought about what that alternative world would be like, he was 99.9% sure that everyone who was aware of the town's history had pondered that question. It was also one of the those questions that could drive a person mad.

When he had speculated over that question he had come up with a dozen different scenarios that would come to pass as a result, like the obvious being if everyone who had been killed as a result of a trouble would be alive today if the troubles never existed? Another one was if Nathan and him would have ever interacted? One of the main reasons that they had even talked growing up was because Nathan was the weird kid who didn't feel anything and was treated as an outcast. Duke had been drawn to him because of the curiosity and sense of adventure befriending the peculiar Wuornos boy brought. The last one, and the one that was a little more complicated was if Haven would even exist? Thinking about the mystical town of Haven made him think that maybe the only thing keeping the town alive was the troubles and without them Haven would cease to exist.

"I honestly don't know man. Sure I've thought about it but there are just too many possibilities to comprehend. There's also the fact that Haven wouldn't be near as interesting without the troubles. And we never would have met Audrey" he added, his voice lowering an octave at the end.

"I'm gonna head out. Night Duke" "night Nathan" before leaving Nathan accidentally brushed his hand against Duke's and a warm pleasant buzz went through Duke and he held in the shaky breath that wanted to come out. Slipping off the stool he made his way to the door and left the bar on the way to his truck.

Back inside the bar Duke was still behind the bar trying to get on with his day but his thoughts kept veering back to Nathan. So many signals had been exchanged during their conversations and silent interactions that it was giving Duke a headache. His hand was still tingling from the brief contact of their hands.

The way Nathan had reacted when he touched his shoulder wouldn't leave him and it only added fuel to the fire. There was also the things Audrey had said and the way she reacted when he had asked about Nathan.

Soon the looks and exchanges Audrey and Nathan had shared with him intermixed and made his head spin. Mentally making the slideshow stop he made a potentially life altering decision.

~Break~

Nathan was seated in his truck, the key in the ignition but the engine off. His mind was in overdrive about everything that had gone down the last few weeks.

He used to be able to keep his emotions in check and no one was the wiser but now he was doing and saying things that were scraping off the facade that he had urgently been taping and gluing together the remains. With recent happenings several pieces had gone missing. Though he found himself not caring and instead found that he was almost glad that his armor was falling apart.

He thought about the small touches Duke and him had exchanged just minutes ago and the almost intimate conversations they had shared.

The look Duke had given him when their hands had brushed had not gone unnoticed and Nathan discovered that he wanted to see that look more often. It conveyed so many emotions: pleasure, desire and adrenaline. Based on all that he had only recently compiled he came to the conclusion that it was possible that Duke reciprocated his feelings.

Or it could all be wishful thinking.

He stopped his pondering when he saw Duke suddenly emerge from the bar and was headed straight for his truck with a look of determination. Furrowing his brow Nathan got out of his truck and was about to ask Duke what was wrong before he could even open his mouth he found his lips mashed together with Duke's.

Nathan was stunned by the unexpected kiss but his reaction said otherwise. Molding his own lips against Duke's he took control of the kiss and cupped the palm of his hand on the back of Duke's neck.

Even though he was unable to feel the kiss he was euphorically stunned to find that for the entire time their lips were connected he felt a pleasant warmth throughout his entire body. It was foreign yet more than welcome. The physical feeling he got from Audrey were vastly different than what he felt with Duke and he determined that he loved the way Duke's touch made him feel more.

It was only when Duke pulled away, gasping for breath that Nathan realized how long they had been kissing.

Trying to regain his breath it took Duke a moment before he was able to speak again. "I got tired of waiting and I figured this was my best shot" he explained to an unasked question.

Nathan was speechless. He couldn't take his eyes off Duke's lips and he had to hold himself back from launching himself at him again.

He did the only thing he could think to do in reply and with their history it came naturally to him. Cupping his fist he reared back and punched Duke across the face.

Staggering back Duke clutched his throbbing check and stared in shock and anger at Nathan. "What the hell? Del-" his rant was cut off when Nathan assaulted him with his lips. Duke almost pushed him away. Almost. But when Nathan's tongue entangled with his own he completely forgot the sudden punch and instead put all his emotions into kissing Nathan back.

"Boat *kiss* now *kiss*" Nathan gasped in-between kisses, his lips moving down to Duke's neck and leaving behind wet kisses. Nodding jerkily Duke reluctantly interceded Nathan's tantalizing kisses and took his hand and dragged him to his boat.

~Break~

Entering Duke's bedroom Nathan tried to keep in mind that Duke was still injured but he was having difficulties controlling himself when Duke aggressively threw him against the wall and mouthed hungrily at his neck.

Just like before he was unable to feel Duke's mouth against his skin but he moaned at the familiar warmth that was enveloping him with each touch. He didn't protest when Duke whirled him around and pushed him onto the bed and continued to trail kisses along his exposed skin.

Wanting more Nathan tugged at Duke's shirt and Duke, catching on to what he wanted, pulled back and carefully slipped the sling off, leaving only his cast as protection, then even more carefully unbuttoned his light blue short-sleeve button up then he gingerly pulled his undershirt off. Once those articles of clothing were removed Duke helped Nathan discard his own shirt. When they were both shirtless Nathan brought Duke's lips back down to his own.

The session was quick and sloppy as they progressively discarded all their clothing and found themselves under the covers with Nathan on top.

His pupils were blown wide, hair ruffled from fingers running through it, chest heaving with exertion and shining with sweat. He didn't even mind the sight of the guard tattoo that adorned Nathan's left forearm.

Nathan was drinking in the sight of Duke as well. The way his chest heaved with each breath, the sexy disarray of his slightly too long hair, the glistening of his skin and even the tattoos that painted his skin.

"God your beautiful" Duke breathed, unable to keep the observation to himself. Nathan would probably take offense at the feminine compliment but he found himself feeling cheesily flattered and leaned down to resume kissing the man he had fought so hard to deny his feelings for.

"Do you have a condom?" Nathan huskily asked near his ear, "y-yeah, in the d-drawer" turning his head Nathan saw the drawer and reached over to pull the drawer open and dig around for a condom. He also found a small tube of lube and took that as well.

He tugged on his cock a few times, the organ soon coming to life in his hand. It was a scientific mystery but yes he could get a hard on even though he couldn't feel anything.

Duke watched him jerk himself to complete erection with full blown eyes and mouthed shaped in an O. enjoying the sinfully erotic look on Duke's face Nathan teased him a little by licking his hand then wrapping the saliva wet hand around his cock once more and jerking off with a seductive smile on his face. Duke almost came right then and cursed Nathan for being such a fucking tease and himself for loving every goddamn minute of it.

"Fuck Nate just fucking fuck me already! I'm not gonna last much longer" Duke gasped, his body trembling with need.

Granting mercy Nathan picked up the tube of lube and coated his fingers in it then set to work on prepping Duke. He inserted first one finger and grinned in satisfaction at the pleasure filled moan that escaped Duke then added a second quickly followed by a third.

"Put your cock in my Nathan before I explode!" Duke had quite the sailor mouth during sex, a fact that Nathan filed away for later. Obliging him Nathan picked up the condom and tore the packaging open with his teeth and as quick as humanly possible pulled the rubber down over his length then picked up the lube spread a generous amount on the rubber and rubbed the lube all over his erection and with one thrust encased himself inside Duke.

Both moaned at the same time and eagerly grinded against each other. The increasingly familiar warmth that Nathan now associated with Duke wrapped him in a cocoon of warmth and safety.

Duke forced Nathan down and collided their lips together and combing thrusts of passion. Their moans and gasps filled the small sleeping area and it almost seemed like they were literally rocking the boat.

All too soon Duke could no longer hold himself back and he came all over Nathan's stomach and the sheets. Nathan came with a few more thrusts and emptied his seed into the very tip of the condom.

All the strength sapped from him, Nathan reluctantly pulled out of Duke who's breathing was slowly returning to normal.

"Damn...that was just...wow" that was all Duke could manage and he smiled when he heard Nathan chuckle.

Turning on his side to face Nathan Duke took in the serenity that was Nathan and the afterglow of their passion.

"It's a huge boost to my ego to see my skills can make the great Duke Crocker lose his articulate prowess" he smirked.

Nothing was or needed to be said for a time, the echoes of their breaths and the pure bliss enough to fill a lifetime of conversations. But the silence couldn't last forever.

The question had been hammering at Duke from the moment Nathan had kissed him back.

"How long?" he asked, now lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

The blissful silence they had been sharing suddenly turned serious.

Nathan sighed, "the day you carried me to the hospital. You?"

Duke bit his lip, "the first time you smiled at me" it was incredibly girly but it was the truth. Nathan rarely smiled back then and when he did it was always incredibly special and if felt like a spiritual moment.

"All this time we've been fighting and it turns out it was all just a cover-up to hide our true feelings" Duke continued, hating himself even more for the cruel pranks he had pulled on Nathan when they were younger.

"As sadistic as it sounds I think after a while I thrived on those pranks because at least you were paying attention to me" Nathan replied, finally acknowledging another secret that he had been carrying around.

"I really am sorry about that. They were stupid and cruel" Duke apologized, turning back on his side to face Nathan once more.

"Well, we have the next fifty plus years, I'm sure you can make it up to me by then" Nathan replied, no malice whatsoever in his voice.

Both couldn't contain the laughter that bellowed deep within their bellies. When the laughter died down Nathan turned his head to looking across at Duke.

"How's the arm?' he asked, only now remembering Duke's injured arm.

"A little sore but nothing I can't handle" he was being truthful but he wasn't going to let that stop him from his next course of action.

Maneuvering his body Duke straddled Nathan and looked at him, a predatory look mirrored back at his own.

"Your doctor won't be too happy with us" there was no conviction in Nathan's voice though because he wanted this just as much as Duke did.

"I'm willing to accept the consequences" he returned, his lips getting closer and closer to Nathan's.

"Me too" closing the distance Nathan fused their lips together and wrapped his arms around Duke's muscular midsection.

In the end all it took to bring two fracture souls together was the case of a broken heart.

**The End. **

**A/N: Once again my first and most likely last Haven Fanfiction. Which is unfortunate because I had plans for other Haven stories but my feelings have been hurt and I don't feel like my work would be appreciated so I'm steering clear of this section. Unless someone can tell me otherwise Purplepidgioncommandbase will not be writing another Haven fic. **


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